A Mother's Love: Fire and Blood
by lord of the land of fire
Summary: Uzumaki Kushina survived her son's birth and the Kyuubi's attack. Now she must do everything in her power to protect him and help him reach his dream, to conquer and rule Konoha. Nar X Hin
1. The terrible choice

**Author's Note: **A lot of people have asked about me writing a sequel to A Mother's Love. As many of you probably know I am currently writing a prequel called A Mother's Love: Life of Kushina. Fire and Blood will not be a sequel but will instead be and AU of AML with the significant even being that Kushina is incapacitated for a longer period. The events in AML: LOK can be considered a prequel to both stories.

XXXXXXXXXX

She felt like she was drowning beneath the heavy waves. She struggled, fought to escape the darkness and reach the surface, to again return to the light. Slowly, painfully, she awakened.

XXXXXXXXXX

Her eyes opened to a harsh too bright light. Her parched lips managed to whisper a name. "Minato…"

A young girl gasped and then ran out of the room shouting. "Lady Tsunade! She's awake! Kushina is awake!" Shizune raced down the corridor desperate to find her sensei.

In short order Tsunade was hovering over her dear friend performing a diagnostic jutsu and fighting back relieved tears. "Oh thank Kami! Kushina you very nearly died. It's been a whole week; you've been in a coma for seven full days. I wasn't sure you would ever wake up."

"A week?" Kushina's voice cracked.

"That's right," Tsunade said.

"Minato?" She asked with a tiny bit of hope in her eyes. She knew what must have happened, but maybe…

"I'm sorry," Tsunade answered, crushing her faint hopes. "He sacrificed himself to save the village. He was a great man and a true hero."

She shut her eyes. _Oh Minato. _He was really gone then. Her one true love was gone. _But there is someone else I love. _"Naruto," she asked with her scratchy voice. "Where is Naruto?" She saw Tsunade take on a fearful expression and Kushina felt fear stab into her heart. "Is Naruto all right?"

"He's fine Kushina," Tsunade assured. "I've been checking on him regularly. He's perfectly healthy. He's in a private room not far from here under heavy ANBU guard."

"Guard?" She asked worriedly. Her mind was still a bit fuzzy but that didn't sound right at all. "Why is he under guard?"

"Kushina," Tsunade hesitated but knew her friend had to be told and it was best if she heard it from her. "While you were in your coma the Council met and came to some decisions about your son. I did what I could, but you have to understand that the majority of them wanted him to be killed."

"Killed?!" Despite her weakness she suddenly sat up. She was rewarded with sudden pain racking her entire body.

"Careful!" Tsunade gently took a hold of her and laid her back down onto the hospital bed. "Kushina your body is in a frail state right now, you mustn't overexert yourself or you could die."

"Why would they want to kill Naruto?" She demanded with her rasping voice. "He is Minato's son! He is sacrificing himself to make Kyuubi a prisoner. He is as much a hero as his poor father!"

Tsunade nodded sadly. "I know that, and I agree with you. That little baby is a hero and the sacrifice he will have to make for the rest of his life is every bit as noble as the one Minato made. But I'm afraid most of the people in this village, ninja and civilian, don't see it that way. They don't see him as Minato's son, or even as an innocent baby, they consider him to be Kyuubi."

Kushina looked up horrified. How could people be so stupid? How could they see a baby and honestly believe he was one of the Biju? "I want to be with him. I want my son."

Tsunade nodded. "We'll get you in a wheel chair and take you to him. But Kushina before we do that you need to know what the Council decided…"

XXXXXXXXXX

The ANBU guards had tried to deny Kushina entrance to her son's room. A few quiet words from Tsunade had convinced them otherwise.

Kushina was sitting in a wheelchair her baby in her arms. There were scars on his cheeks, but otherwise he seemed like a perfectly normal baby. He was sleeping peacefully in her arms. Tsunade and Shizune were in the room as well. They all looked up when the door opened and Sarutobi entered. He was in his Hokage robes and when he saw her he gave her a grandfatherly smile. "Kushina, I am so happy to see you awake and alert."

Kushina didn't return he smile. Instead she sent him a look of pure and absolute hatred. "How could you?" She asked in a voice that was little more than a whisper. "Minato trusted you."

The smile faded away from Sarutobi's face. He suddenly looked very old and very weary. "I see you have been told about the Council meeting and the decisions that were reached." He looked to Tsunade and Shizune. "Could we have a moment alone please?"

Tsunade glanced at Kushina who gave her a slight nod. "Come on Shizune; let's get a quick bite to eat."

The moment they were gone Kushina began to speak. Her voice was kept low but her anger was not hidden. "How dare you. Hokage or not what gives you the right to strip my son of what is his? He is Minato's rightful heir and will be head of the Namikaze clan one day. How dare you plan to take away his name and declare him an orphan!"

"That was for his own protection," Sarutobi said quietly. "You know how many enemies Minato had. If they knew he had a son the boy's life would be in constant danger. And no one knew if you would ever wake up. Making him an orphan seemed the wisest course, and it was the best one available."

"Well I'm awake now so that won't be a problem will it? Since I am Minato's wife that makes me Namikaze clan head until Naruto comes of age. I'll protect my son, and if you want to assign extra security I won't object." To her shock rather than agree with her she saw him slowly shake his head.

"I'm very sorry Kushina," he told her. "But I am afraid you will not be recognized as either Minato's widow or as Namikaze clan head. So far as Konoha is concerned you were his lover and Naruto his illegitimate son."

She stared at him not believing what he was saying. "I was his wife! We were married a year and a half ago in Whirlpool! I know for a fact that Minato gave you a copy of the marriage documents!"

"He did," Sarutobi admitted. "I have taken the documents and put them in a safe place. When the time is right and Naruto is ready to make his claim I will present them to the Council and vouch for their authenticity. But I am afraid that for now I cannot make them public or acknowledge either you or Naruto as Minato's legitimate heirs."

"You can't do that," she whispered. "How can you say such things?! I thought you were Minato's friend! How can you turn your back on me and his son?"

"Kushina," Sarutobi said patiently. "If I acknowledged you as Minato's wife and legitimate head of Namikaze you would be assassinated within the week."

"What?"

"Too many people hold too much resentment against you. I am sorry, but to most you are a foreigner who seduced their beloved Yondaime. Were you from Konoha things might be different, but if you were suddenly proclaimed Minato's widow the ugly truth is most people would simply see you as a thief trying to steal the largest fortune in Konoha. Too many in this village would be too violently opposed to allowing a foreigner to claim the Namikaze fortunes and estates. Your life would be in severe danger, and if you were killed what would happen to Naruto then? He would be an orphan and everyone would know there was a connection to Minato. He would be in even greater danger."

"I'll take my chances," she ground out. "I have more faith in my katana right now than I do in you and all your ANBU and ninja. I'll tell everyone the truth and stake my claim to the Namikaze clan holdings."

"Please don't do that," Sarutobi asked. "If you do I will have no alternative but to publicly deny your claim."

"You would really do that? You would really deny me and my son what is ours?"

"Yes, I am very sorry Kushina, but given the climate of fear in the village right now you would never be able to hold your claim. As I've said though, that may change in time, when Naruto is older…"

"To hell with that! Why should my son be denied what is **his**? All I am asking for is what rightfully belongs to us."

"I am sorry Kushina but I cannot allow it, for your own safety as well as his."

"Then I'll tell everyone the truth!"

Sarutobi shrugged. "No one will believe you. You have no evidence to back your claim. The only people who know the truth are you, me, Tsunade, and Jiraiya. I will not support you and Jiraiya is not in Konoha. If Tsunade is the only one who backs your claim it will look like she is acting to help a friend."

"The entire Uzumaki clan witnessed my marriage," she shot back. "And the original marriage documents are in Whirlpool. I can present them and have a dozen witnesses who know the truth."

The old man sighed. "I will declare the documents to be forgeries and everyone will assume that your family is lying to help you swindle the Namikaze fortune. All you will really accomplish is destroying any possibility that Naruto will inherit in the future. If I am forced to publicly declare Naruto is not Minato's legitimate heir it will be impossible to reverse that in the future. Kushina, please try and understand that this is the best I can do. The Council was adamant that your son either be killed or made a living weapon. It took every favor I had and all my skill just to convince a majority of them to allow him to be treated as an orphan. I was even able to pass a special law to prevent anyone who knows the truth about the Kyuubi from telling anyone else. That way he might at least have normal relationships with those of his own generation."

"How very generous of you," she said bitterly. "You would have had Minato's only child grow up a poor orphan all alone in a village where he was hated. Tsunade told me his name is Uzumaki Naruto; you deny him even his rightful name."

"If his last name were Namikaze that would defeat the entire effort to protect him from Minato's enemies." Sarutobi said reasonably. "Sine you are conscious he will of course not be an orphan. I will have a small house and pension provided for you and have ANBU protect him around the clock, I will also give you as many missions as you like to allow you to earn extra money. Though it may be difficult the two of you should be all right until Naruto comes of age."

"Are you insane?" Kushina asked him. "You think I'd actually stay in a village where he'll be hated and where he is being robbed of his birthright? I'm taking my son back to Whirlpool with me."

"Kushina I cannot…"

"Don't you dare!" She said sharply. "You don't get to have your cake and eat it too. You say he is not Minato's legitimate heir, that he and I have no connection to Namikaze. Fine then, that also means you and this damn village have **no **authority over me. I am not a Leaf nin; I am not even a citizen of Konoha since I apparently never married Minato. I am a ninja of Whirlpool as for my son, who is an **Uzumaki **after all; he is a citizen of Whirlpool and part of my clan. You have absolutely no right to keep me and my son here against my will."

"That is true," Sarutobi answered carefully. "And if you wish to leave with your son I will not try and prevent it. But please understands that if you leave I will no longer be able to protect you or Naruto."

"I think I'd rather do without your _protection _Sarutobi. I do have one request though; all m y private belongings are in the Namikaze mansion. I trust I will be allowed to get my property before I go?"

He nodded sadly. "Of course, though you will not be permitted to take anything that belongs to the Namikaze clan. Just so you know the estates have been placed in trust and sealed. No one will be allowed to use them, that specifically included the jutsus in the private library."

"I understand, wouldn't want the whore from Whirlpool making off with the family silverware."

"Kushina…"

"Get out," she said coldly. "I think we understand each other just fine old man."

Nodding he turned to leave. "I am sorry; I honestly did the best that I could."

"Yes, and wouldn't Minato be proud if only he could see what you've done?"

Sarutobi lowered his eyes in shame. He really had done all he could for her and for Naruto. But he was still ashamed that it was so much less than they deserved.

XXXXXXXXXX

It was three days before Kushina recovered enough to leave the hospital. When she did so she had Naruto in her arms and Tsunade and Shizune at her side. She was in her red and black body suit with her katana in its sheath on her back. She had a full set of kunai, shuriken, and explosive notes in her possession. She was glad to be so fully armed. The way people were staring at her and her child she thought she might have to fight her way through.

Along with Tsunade and Shizune she had four squads of ANBU escorting her from the village to the mansion. People understood that ANBU always meant business and whatever their feelings the common folk maintained enough sense to keep a safe distance. That didn't prevent them from staring with those hateful unforgiving eyes. It also didn't keep the occasional fool from shouting, 'whore' or 'monster' or 'demon.' Seeing so much hatred being directed at her and her child she longed to take out her katana and give them something to _really _fear. _If you only had one neck I'd hack it through._

When they reached the Namikaze estate they saw a seal on the gate. Two ANBU escorted her, Naruto, and Tsunade onto the grounds. Shizune and the rest of her escort waited at the gate. When they reached the mansion itself she saw there were seals not only on the door but every last window as well. Inside the building was dark and quiet. The servants of course were long gone. The place had been so full of life and happiness not too long ago. They had spent their time getting Naruto's room ready and making plans for the baby. Though it had been delayed she had finally brought Naruto home. But he would not be allowed to stay. _All this is yours my darling. Your father wanted you to live here and carry on his clan's name, this place and everything in it belongs to you. No matter what Sarutobi or anyone else says._

They came to the master bedroom. "If you don't mind, I'd rather not have two men looking while I sort through my panties." Kushina said pleasantly.

The two ANBU looked at one another. One wore an owl mask and the other a ram's. The two men had plainly been expecting to go in with them. Finally the one with the owl mask nodded. "We'll wait right here, you have fifteen minutes."

"Thank you sooooo much," she said as she shut the door. Kushina instantly handed Naruto over to Tsunade. "Pack up a bunch of my clothes, I don't care which." She whispered and hurried over to the far wall.

"What are you doing?" Tsunade asked.

Kushina pressed a concealed switch that looked like part of the window sill. Soundlessly a hidden door within the wall slid open. "I'm getting my son his legacy." She slipped into the hidden passageway and was gone.

On the table in the private library she hurriedly stacked what she could. She had gone to Minato's family den first where he kept his family's jewels. He'd given all of them to her upon their marriage and told her the safe's location and combination. Inside was an ornate wooden jewelry box with eight little drawers. Inside were rings and earrings studded with diamonds, rubies, emeralds and other precious stones. There was a diamond necklace with over two hundred individual stones, all of them at least two carats. The necklace alone was worth five million ryu; the rest of the jewels combined might be another three million. She opened each of the little drawers and dumped the contents into a cloth sack on her belt.

In the private library she retrieved all the family jutsu scrolls. She could sort them out later; bit she made very sure that the one and only copy of the legendary Hiraishin no Jutsu was one of them. She placed them all on the table along with a couple photo albums that were also kept there. She then brought out a blank scroll with an ink jar and brush. She was a long way from being a seal master like Minato or Jiraiya. But her darling had taught her the basics of the art and that was enough. She wrote down the necessary formula onto the blank paper. Then, using the bare minimum of chakra she made a hand sign. "**Seal." **Everything that had been on the table vanished. On the scroll new symbols appeared representing those objects. She rolled the scroll up tight and slipped it into her body suit between her stomach and her body armor. With that done she hurried back to the secret passage.

XXXXXXXXXX

They left the mansion with two large packs stuffed with clothes and with their escort none the wiser. From the estate they were headed straight to the gate. As they passed the Hyuuga estate Kushina glanced at it. Hiashi had been Minato's closest friend and she considered him and his wife to be dear friends as well. But neither of them had visited her in the hospital. They had done nothing to try and help her or her son. She was left with no choice but to conclude that like everyone else in Konoha they had decided to abandon her now that Minato was gone.

All along the way to the gate she encountered more of the same ugly looks and hateful shouts. Every one only made her that much more eager to get back to Whirlpool and her clan.

"You know you two don't have to escort me," Kushina said.

"Don't worry," Tsunade answered with a grin. "It's not like I want to stay in this village any more than you do. Besides, it's been a long time since I've been to Whirlpool, it'll be fun."

"Thank you, both of you." She looked at them gratefully. "It means a lot to me to know that at least the two of you still support me."

As they neared the gate Tsunade smiled. "Well it looks like we're not the only ones."

There waiting for them were two young teens. One with an ANBU mask in the form of a dog in his hand.

"Kakashi, Rin, thank you for seeing me off," Kushina said. "I'm sure Minato would be grateful to know his students came to see me and Naruto."

Rin came up to her tears in her eyes. "Is it true? Are you really leaving for good?"

Kushina nodded. "With the way things are I think it's for the best. Naruto won't be treated fairly in this place. In Whirlpool he'll be loved and respected, and he'll have a huge family."

"But it's not fair!" The girl cried out. She looked lovingly at the little baby.

"No it's not," Tsunade said. "But for that you can blame the people of this village. Their own cruelty and heartlessness have forced this situation."

Kakashi slowly stepped forward until he was shoulder to shoulder with Rin. His hitai-ite was covering his left eye while his right was looking down at the baby's face. "He looks just like sensei," he said quietly. "How can they hate him?"

"I don't know," Kushina said. "But they do.

Kakashi looked up from Naruto's face to Kushina's. "Kushina, I want to make a request. Please let me come with you."

"What?" Rin gasped and turned to him. "Kakashi you can't do that!"

"She'd right," Tsunade said. "Shizune and I have been given special permission to travel as we please from the old man. You can't leave the village without permission, you know that."

"If you do you'll be a missing nin! They'll send hunter nins after you to track you down!" Rin said fearfully.

Kushina smiled gently. "Thank you Kakashi, I truly appreciate the offer and I know Minato would be very proud of you. But I can't ask you to make such a sacrifice for me."

Kakashi calmly produced a piece of paper and handed it to Kushina. "The Hokage has granted me permission to resign my ninja status and leave the village."

That produced gasps not only from Rin, Tsunade, and Shizune but from their ANBU escort as well. Kakashi was only fifteen but he was all ready becoming a Black Ops legend, the famed Copy ninja.

Kushina did not gasp or make a fuss. She took the document and read it silently. It was indeed a letter from the Hokage with his seal and signature releasing Kakashi from his status as a ninja and permitting him to leave the village. "Why would Sarutobi do this?"

"I told him that I could no longer serve this village," he answered calmly. "In my life there have been two men who I truly admired and wanted to be like, my father and my sensei. One was scorned by the people and ninja of this village until he was finally driven to commit seppuku. The other sacrificed himself for the sake of Konoha, only to have his lady love and his son hated and driven out." He pulled off his hitai-ite, careful to keep his left eye shut. "So far as I'm concerned this village does not deserve my loyalty. If you'll let me, I want to help protect my sensei's son. I want to try and be a role model for him just like Minato-sensei was for me. But whatever happens I will no longer serve this ungrateful village." Taking a kunai he slowly and deliberately slashed the metal on his headband, neatly cutting the leaf symbol in two.

"Kakashi," Rin looked at him horrified. "You can't… you…"

"I'm sorry Rin, I really am," he told her gently as he replaced the now slashed hitai-ite. "But I can't serve a village that treats its heroes this way."

Kushina looked at him. "If you are absolutely sure then you are more than welcome to join me. My clan and village would welcome you."

"Thank you Kushina-san."

XXXXXXXXXX

And so the five of them departed and left Konoha behind.


	2. Whirlpool

Three days of travel had brought them to the edge of Whirlpool territory. Whirlpool was a small country stuck between Earth and Whirlpool. It was really a city state based around the ninja village that was located on the coast. It was a cold, gloomy, wet place where it rained almost every morning and where the grass would grow as high as your shoulder. Whirlpool was perhaps a quarter the size of Konoha with a compliment of about four hundred ninja. The Uzumaki were considered one of the strongest of the clans based there. They were known for their swordsmanship and their ferocity in battle. There was an old saying in Whirlpool that everyone knew, 'don't piss off the Uzumaki.'

As they made camp Kushina got done feeding her son and sang him a lullaby that soon had him asleep. He was such a good natured baby! He hardly ever cried or fussed. He actually seemed to enjoy riding on her back through the trees.

"You seem to be in a really good mood," Tsunade noted once Naruto was asleep.

Kushina smiled. "I'm going to see my family tomorrow and I get to show my parents their brand grandson. Of course I'm in a good mood. Whirlpool may not be much compared to Konoha in a lot of ways but I know Naruto will be happy there. He'll grow up surrounded by the clan safe and loved just like I did." Kushina looked about to see Kakashi and Shizune a little ways off. "Listen Tsunade, there's something I've been meaning to ask you about." Kushina said quietly.

"What?" Tsunade dropped her voice to match.

"Sarutobi told me Jiraiya wasn't in the village. But I noticed that some of the flowers in my hospital room were from him." It hadn't been hard to notice, there hadn't been many flowers.

Tsunade looked a little uncomfortable as she answered. "He returned to the village three days after the attack. Just in time to attend Minato's funeral. He came to visit you, but of course you were in a coma. He also came to see Naruto. He spoke with me about what had happened and about Naruto's situation and your condition. I told him I didn't know when or if you would ever wake up. He left the next day."

"He just left?" Kushina asked with a frown. "Was he on a mission? Was there some reason why he left so quickly? Did he plan to come back?"

Tsunade shook her head. "I don't know. He didn't tell me anything, the next day he was just gone. The impression I had though was that he didn't know how to handle losing Minato. He really loved him like a son."

"I know that," Kushina said. "And if he needed time to grieve I could understand. But he is also Naruto's godfather. He should have been there to watch over him even if he was grieving."

"You know I'm usually not one to defend that pervert," Tsunade said. "But losing Minato and not even being there to try and help really hit him hard. Maybe he has earned a little pass. At least withhold judgment until you can talk to him."

"I suppose that would be fair,' Kushina admitted. "Any way, I'm sure my mom will make a feast for us once we get there. How long can you and Shizune stay?"

"We'll definitely stay a few days, maybe a week." Tsunade grinned fondly. "I seem to recall there are a few gaming dens in Whirlpool."

"Well try to not lose _all _you money. Your gambling is really starting to get a little out of hand."

"No need to worry, I'm rich after all. It's not like I could ever lose my entire family fortune."

"With your luck I wouldn't be so sure of that."

XXXXXXXXXX

The next day they arrived a little before noon.

"The walls…" Kushina stood rooted to the spot staring out. She didn't think she could move.

Whirlpool had been surrounded by thirty foot high walls. They had always stood there guarding the village and all those who lived there. But they were gone now. They had been reduced to a jumble of stone blocks. She was standing on the east road that led from Waterfall into Whirlpool village. The road itself seemed to be the only thing still intact.

"Kushina," Tsunade spoke and gently touched her arm. "Come on we have to check on your home."

"Home," she mumbled. "Yes, home, come on." She hurried towards the shattered wall. _Oh please Kami just let my family be all right! I don't care if the house is gone as long as they're all right._

Entering the village itself was even worse than seeing the destruction from a distance. There was not one building left standing, not one. It was hard to even be sure what was street and what used to be houses. There were bricks scattered everywhere. Here and there were people rooting through the rubble trying to salvage anything they could. No one offered to help them. They would look up to stare with blank empty eyes and then return to their labor. The air was thick with the sweet sticky smell of rot. Walking through the village they were literally walking through a graveyard. Most of the bodies buried within the demolished buildings would never be recovered. The wreckage would be their final resting place.

Kushina didn't let herself think about any of it. Her mind was focused on just one thought, getting home. Obviously there had been survivors. Even if the Uzumaki compound had been flattened surely her family had survived. Most of them were ninja afterall, born survivors. Surely they would be all right.

She was running through the streets until she came to a cliff. She was forced to stop. There was nothing in front of her but the ocean.

Looking on out on the blue water she felt her body begin to shake. "No," she whispered. "No, oh kami no, no, no, no, no NO, NO, NO!!!" Her whispers grew into screams.

"Kushina!" Tsunade grabbed and shook her. "Stop it! You're making Naruto cry!"

Kushina stared at her. "It's gone, it's really gone."

"I know dear, I know." Tsunade said sympathetic. She'd been to the Uzumaki compound. As she recalled it was about a mile and half into what was now a bay. The cliff where they were standing had no docks of piers. There was rubble from houses right up to the edge. It looked as if part of the village had simply fallen into the sea.

"What am I supposed to do now?!" Kushina wailed.

"I don't know," Tsunade told her. "But whatever it is we'll figure something out."

As Kushina continued to weep a man approached them.

"Kushina? Is that you?"

Kushina looked up at the grey haired man. He was wearing the same type of black and red body suit she had. On his back was a katana. She recognized him. "Uncle Saishu! Oh thank kami!" She ran to him. He opened up his arms and embraced her. "Oh uncle than k kami, I'm glad you're all right."

"Did you get my letter?" He asked her.

"No," she looked up at him. "What letter? What happened here? Where are the others? Mother? Father? Temjin?"

The man slowly and regretfully shook his head. "There are no others Kushina, we are the only Uzumaki left. I only survived because I was out of the village when the Kyuubi came."

"The Kyuubi? The Kyuubi did this?" Kushina asked not believing it.

"But the Kyuubi was never in Whirlpool," Tsunade argued.

"No, but he created an earthquake which is what did all of this. He destroyed us without even coming here." Saishu told them.

"I can believe that," Kakashi said. "I was in the field trying to slow it down and I saw the unbelievable power of the thing. It could flatten a mountain with a swipe of one of its tails."

With all this going on Naruto began to cry again. Saishu finally noticed the newborn. "Kushina, is this your son?"

She nodded and carefully took Naruto into her arms to show him to her uncle. "Uncle Saishu this is my son Naruto."

Even surrounded with such tragedy the man smiled down at the squalling child. "He's a beautiful baby, and he looks just like his father. Is Minato here with you? For that matter why did you come here if you hadn't gotten my letter yet? I thought your parents were going to visit you after the child was born. Your mother said she was going to stay with you in Konoha for a few months."

"A lot has happened uncle," she told him wearily. "Can we get out of here? I don't want to have to look at this anymore."

XXXXXXXXXX

They left the village and went out into some nearby hills. Over a quiet lunch of fish and some rice they talked and shared information. Kushina hesitated to tell her uncle the truth about her son. Given what the Kyuubi had done she feared he might resent him as the villagers did. But the bonds of clan and family were strong and she trusted they would be more important than anything else. She also did not want to keep secrets from her only remaining relative.

Saishu was shocked to learn Minato was dead and even more surprised to learn what was inside his grand nephew. But as Kushina had hoped he did not turn away from her son as the villagers in Konoha had. To him her son was family first and everything else second. She was also happy to see he shared her fury for Sarutobi and the villagers.

"They have a weird idea about loyalty," Saishu said darkly. "They love the father but cast out the wife and son."

"They don't acknowledge me as his wife," she said bitterly. "To them I was nothing but a conniving whore, and Naruto is just an illegitimate bastard."

"Blood is blood," Saishu replied. "Even if they didn't see you as his wife they still should have at least recognized Naruto as his son."

"They should have but they don't uncle," she said tiredly. "And since the original marriage documents are at the bottom of the ocean there's nothing I can do to prove it."

Eventually the conversation led to one inevitable topic.

"So what do we do now?" Shizune asked.

The others all looked at one another.

"We could go back to Konoha," Shizune offered. "I am sure the Hokage would take everyone back and I'm sure Saishu would be welcomed too. The village is short of ninja afterall."

"No," Kushina said decisively. "I won't have my son raised somewhere people will hate him."

"We can stay right here," Saishu said. "I was planning on salvaging whatever I could from the compound. It won't be easy; it may take years but…"

"No," Kushina cut him off. "Uncle how long do you think it will be before the rock nins swarm in to take over? There's nothing to stop them."

Saishu frowned at her. "We are the last Uzumaki we can't abandon our ancestral home."

"My home is wherever my son is. Our duty is to restore the clan uncle, not guard a piece of ground. Especially not if there are damn rock nins on it. Do you know what they'll do if they even suspect who Naruto's father is?"

"We can't leave Whirlpool." He said stubbornly.

"My son and I aren't staying," she said flatly. "As clan head I am ordering you to come with us."

Saishu lifted a feathery eyebrow. "_You're_ clan head?"

"My father was the clan head and I am his only remaining child, by tradition that makes me head of the Uzumaki."

Saishu looked at her and considered.

"Please don't abandon me uncle," she said quietly her tone pleading. "You and Naruto are my only family now."

Looking heartbroken he nodded. "I won't, I'll protect you and my little grand nephew. It's… it's just hard to leave though."

"I know," she said. "I loved this place too, but what matters is family. We'll find a new home for the Uzumaki."

"Which brings us back to the question of where do we go from here?" Tsunade said.

"Tsunade, maybe it's time for you and Shizune to strike out on your own. I appreciate all you've done but there's no need for you to do anymore."

"Actually, since you don't have a home right now I thought that Shizune and I would stay with you. After all, someone has to give my little godson checkups and take care of his health."

Kushina's lips quirked into an amused grin. "Godson?" She asked. "I don't seem to recall offering you that job."

"If that pervert is good enough to be a godfather I am more than good enough to be a godmother."

"Fine, but you have to stop gambling."

"Don't push it," Tsunade warned.

"As entertaining as all this is," Kakashi spoke up. "Where do we go from here?"

"I want to get as far from Earth and Fire as possible." Kushina said. "We'll go south."

"South?" Kakashi asked. "Anything more specific?"

"Not right now,' Kushina said.

Kakashi shrugged. "South it is then."


	3. Reunion

He was asleep when the guards came for him.

"Up on your feet!" One of them yelled.

Knowing he would be kicked if he didn't get up he rose as fast as he could. The manacles clinked as they always did. There was a metal bar that kept his wrists a foot apart at all times. Preventing him from making hand signs. It made using a pick and shovel harder but the guards didn't seem to care. On his feet he was that along with two of the regular guards there was stranger. He wasn't dressed like a prison guard or even like a ninja. He wore big baggy pants and a buttoned down white shirt and vest. He looked like a well to do merchant.

The stranger looked closely at him. "Is he the one? Are you sure?"

Yes, this is definitely him," one of the guards said.

"Hmmm, you don't look like your worth five million." The stranger said taking another close look.

"Huh?" The prisoner said.

"Get him in my wagon," the merchant told the two guards.

Grabbing him by his arms they began to haul him out of the prison camp. The other prisoners were awake but knew better than to stir or draw any attention to themselves. The guards were dragging him pout in the middle of the night, whatever the reason he doubted it could be good. Normally the prisoners were simply worked to death no matter how long it took. Most men died within a year or two. But he was a hard case; he was going to live on if only to spite them. He had already survived, was it six years of seven? He wasn't sure but it was longer than any of the other prisoners. Maybe the guards were sick of him and had decided to just cut his throat rather than keep working him into the grave. _If they're going to kill me I wonder if I should say thank you?_

He began to really wonder what was going on as they headed for the prison camp's main gate. He had not stepped through there since his original arrival in this hell hole. He didn't believe he would ever pass through it again. Every single morning he got up, was fed a little rice and water and was then marched into the stone quarry and worked until dark. Then he would be given some rice and water for dinner and marched back to the lodge where he would sleep with the others. When he died he still wouldn't leave this place. They would just chuck him in one of the old quarry pits to rot. If they were going to kill him they wouldn't go to the trouble of taking him outside the camp.

As they neared the gate the captain of the night watch came out. The merchant went over to him and something changed hands. The merchant then approached the two guards who were on the gate. He handed something to each of them and the gate was soon opened.

A little ways outside he saw a covered wagon with a driver and four horses hitched up. The guards got him to the back of the wagon and hauled him up into it. There was an iron rod sticking out of the wagon floor. The guards took out a lock and neatly attached his bar to it. With that done the two guards jumped back down and held out their hands. The merchant slapped a thick wad of ryu notes into each palm.

"Remember," the man said unhappily. "He died. He's gone."

"Sure," one of them said happily.

"Prisoners die all the time," said the other one said as he made his money disappear.

As the guards headed back to the camp the merchant looked at him with a very unhappy frown. "You have any idea how expensive it is to make a ninja slave disappear? If you were just a normal man it wouldn't have cost a quarter as much. You had better be worth it, that's all I've got to say. If the offer turns out to be a trick I'll cut you up and feed you to my dogs."

"Who the hell are you?" The prisoner asked, not understanding at all what was going on.

The man let out a sour laugh. "Your savior obviously." With that he slammed shut the back of the wagon. Not long after that he felt the wagon lurch into motion.

XXXXXXXXXX

He spent the next fifteen days traveling chained up on the back of the wagon. Other men would have considered the experience a horror. That would only prove that most people had no idea what horror really was. Each morning he was allowed out to use the facilities and be given a quick shower, usually by having a bucket of water splashed on him. He was then allowed to eat. The food was usually just rice and tea but he was also given some fish and bread too, and he could have as much food as he wanted. For the first time in years he actually stopped being hungry. They would then lock him back into place on the wagon, but they would give him a bucket of clean water and a ladle so he would not get too thirsty. When they wagon stopped for the night they would feed him again. Rice, bread, vegetables, even **meat, **it was plain fare but to him it was a feast, and again he could eat all he wanted.

He asked the merchant and the driver why they were feeding him so well.

The man had laughed. "After everything I've spent on you up 'til now the last thing I want is for you to die of starvation on the way there."

"And just where are we going?" The prisoner had asked.

"River country," the man had answered.

The prisoner had done a lot of traveling back when he was still a ninja working for his village. But he had never once gone to River country. "Why? What's in River country?"

The man had laughed. "Your new owners of course."

XXXXXXXXXX

Along with getting fed and cleaned he'd even got some new clothes as well as a haircut and a shave. When he saw his reflection in the bucket he actually looked like the man he'd been when he'd been captured. Oh he looked thinner and older, but at least he looked what people called presentable.

After fifteen days of travel they came to the city of Kiyosu.

When t eh back of the wagon opened the prisoner saw that along with the merchant and driver there were about fifteen big ugly looking guards. "We're here," the merchant announced. "Now either I sell you or I feed you to my dogs."

With that a couple of the guards pulled him down off the wagon. 'Here,' turned out to be a bounty station. _Could I have a bounty on me after all this time? _It hardly seemed possible. And who in their right mind would pay to kill him or imprison him when he was already trapped in hell?

He didn't need to wait long. As soon as he arrived the man sent out a messenger. Not long after that his, 'owners' arrived. Two people dressed in brown robes with hoods over their heads. He couldn't guess who they were but by the nervous way the merchant and his men were looking in their direction he'd have bet anything they were ninja.

The merchant licked his lips and cautiously stepped forward. "He is the one you want?"

"Yes," a woman's voice answered immediately.

The prisoner was surprised to learn one of them was a woman. And there was something just a little familiar about that voice.

"Then are bargain?" The man asked nervously.

"Here," the woman reached into her robe and produced something then tossed it to him. It sparkled in the sunlight. "Now let him go."

The man grabbed it with both hands. He quickly produced a jewelers lens and studied it. The prisoner thought it was a diamond necklace.

"It's real," the merchant practically sang. He looked up at the two in robes and smiled at them. "I don't know what you want him for but you've made the single worst bargain I've ever heard of."

"No," the woman's voice was iron. "He's worth a thousand times what I paid you. Now let him go."

The man made the necklace disappear and nodded shouting to his guards to let him go. For just a second the prisoner thought about making a break for it. But the manacles were still on his wrists. He doubted he could outrun the guards never mind the ninja. Taking a deep breath he walked towards the two figures in their hooded cloaks.

"Just who are you people and what do you want with me?"

"We'll tell you in a minute," the woman said.

"Just as soon as we are inside," a man's voice said.

The prisoner looked at him. That voice was _very _familiar. The woman placed a hand on his arm and made a hand sign. The two of them disappeared in a swirl of wind and mist. The other one made a similar gesture and disappeared as well.

When they reappeared it was in a small room in some hotel. The instant that happened the woman pressed herself to his chest and began shaking. "Urusai," she cried.

"What?!" Uzumaki Shinzou gasped. "Kooky?!" reaching up with his still chained hands he pulled down her hood. There was the crying visage of a young woman with red hair and green eyes. She was no longer the twelve year old he remembered but there was no mistaking it was the same face. "Oh kami it's really you Kooky!"

"So it is," the man lowered his own hood. "Welcome back nephew."

"Uncle Saishu!" he said happily. "How did you manage to rescue me?!"

Kushina smiled up at her big brother and wiped her tears. "Well it just so happens that loud mouth Jin was talking about a trip he'd made up to Iwa to sell prisoners. He mentioned that there was a ninja prisoner from Whirlpool still working one of their camps. He revealed he was an Uzumaki. When I heard that I asked him if there was any way he could help me get you out of there."

Saishu laughed. "By which she means she put her katana to the little merchant's neck and said she would slice him open if he didn't help her get you back."

"I told him I'd give him a necklace worth millions if he brought you here," she said.

He looked at his little sister. "How did you get a necklace worth millions? Everything our clan owns wouldn't come to even half a million."

"A lot of things have happened in the last six years brother." Kushina told him. "You better sit down. Oh but to start with I'm a widow with a little boy, so that makes you an uncle."

He gaped at her. _My little sister has a kid? I'm an uncle? _He sat down.

"There's a lot more, not all of it good. A couple months ago the nine tail Kyuubi came…"

Shinzou spent most of that first night of freedom listening to all the ways life had changed. Things would clearly not be easy, but after all he had endured he would manage. And he would do everything in his power to restore his clan and protect the precious few family members he had left.


	4. Five years later

**Five Years later**

Lord Isamu was riding in his wagon pleasantly dozing in the hot summer sun. He was heading back to the little cottage where he kept his favorite mistress. Surrounding the carriage were twenty heavily armed men of his personal bodyguard. As he enjoyed the pleasant afternoon ride he imagined being called by the Daimyo to serve in his cabinet. It would not only be a great honor but he would be in a position to make powerful friends who could help him increase his holdings. Isamu knew he was not a brilliant man. He also knew he was far from hard working; he liked to spend his days eating, sleeping, and making love to his many women. But he had one skill that he knew made up for all the rest, he knew how to make money. His province of River country produced more tax revenue than any other. When it came to milking everything he could from his peasants he was a real genius.

Of course all his special taxes and fees and mandatory contributions left most of his people barely enough to survive. Even the merchants and shopkeepers were poor. But what were they for but to help their lord? Delivering so much tax money to the Daimyo each season earned him praise, and of course he kept a little extra for himself. He was certain he would be called to the capital soon; he was destined for great things.

His pleasant day dream came to an abrupt end as the carriage was brought to a sudden halt. Outside he could hear his guards shouting and talking nervously. With annoyance he opened the carriage door and leaned his head out. "What's going on?" He demanded. "Why have we stopped?"

The captain of his body guard turned to him and hurriedly bowed. "I apologize Lord Isamu, but there are two men standing in the road."

Isamu looked. Sure enough there were. They were dressed all in black except for a wide stripe of dark red that ran down along the side of their clothing. He could see both men were armed. He sent his captain an annoyed look. "Well? What are you waiting for? There are only two of them!"

The captain looked at him and nervously licked his lips. "I believe these men may be ninja. It may be wise to turn around and escape while we can."

"Are you a coward? Just what the hell am I paying you for? Are you telling me all twenty of you can't handle two ninja?"

River country had no ninja village of its own. As such the local nobility didn't _truly _understand the gap between ninja and ordinary soldiers. No matter how skilled or well armed no ordinary swordsman was a match for a trained ninja. And depending on their ability level even a ten to one advantage might not be enough. "If you order me to attack them I will do so Lord Isamu. But I suspect those men may be far more dangerous than they seem."

"Kill them or kill yourself," he said indifferently.

The captain bowed once again. He was honor bound to obey his lord's commands. Pulling out his own sword he shouted and the men all joined him as he rushed down the road to attack the two interlopers.

For their part the two men did nothing at all. They did not speak, they did not try to run, they didn't even draw their weapons. They merely stood there and watched until the guards got to within twenty yards.

That was when they stepped on the trip wire detonating the explosive notes.

Isamu watched the deafening explosion from a safe distance. His captain and several of the guards were blown to bits while the rest were knocked to their feet or stumbled about disoriented. That was when the two men finally drew their swords. They leapt over the smoking crater that was in the middle of the road now. With incredible speed their swords flashed in the afternoon sun and men began to scream as they were hacked down.

Isamu gulped as he saw his guards being killed like so many spring lambs. He was about to yell at his driver to get him out when he saw a wickedly sharp blade pressed to this throat.

"And where do you think you're going?" A woman's pleasant voice said in his ear. "You really should have listened to your guard, he had the right instinct. Not that it would have saved you."

With exaggerated care he turned his face to see a beautiful red haired woman with stunning green eyes. She was dressed like the two men in the road. She was quite stunning; under different circumstances he would have taken her for a lover. "Do you know who I am?"

"Lord Isamu, ruler of Ichoku province," she answered simply. "Soon to be former ruler."

"Don't be hasty; I can have a very large ransom paid for my safe return."

The woman shook her head. "We don't deal with ransoms, too much trouble. We prefer bounties, they're much more straightforward."

"Whatever the bounty I will double it. My son will gladly pay any price to save me." The woman began to laugh and Isamu got very cold feeling in his belly. "What is so funny?"

"My dear Lord Isamu," the woman answered politely. "Who do you think put the bounty on you in the first place?"

Seeing the ridiculous look of surprise on his face Kushina decided it was enough. She drew her sword back and sliced down into his neck. Her katana cut clean through the meat and bone. His head came neatly off with just the one cut.

XXXXXXXXXX

The only person to survive their ambush was the wagon driver. After putting Isamu's head in a sack and relieving him of his purse and rings the wagon driver had been allowed to go untouched. He turned the wagon around with the rest of Lord Isamu's body lying inside. No doubt the son would make a huge show of grief and give his daddy a wonderful funeral.

The three of them were flying through the trees heading back home.

"You know sometimes this work really does sicken me," Kushina said. "I mean a son putting out a contract on his own father? Disgusting!"

"Disgusting or not we still took the job though didn't we Kooky?" Shinzou said. "And it's not like we'll turn up our noses when we collect the bounty."

"I know that," Kushina snapped.

Her uncle turned his head to look her way. "What's wrong Kushina? You are the one who chose this job. It went exactly as planned and none of us even have a scratch."

"Why are we always performing assassinations?" She demanded. "That lord may have had it coming but I doubt his son will be any better. And we had to kill twenty men who hadn't done anything but picked the wrong employer."

"You can't expect to assassinate important people without having to deal with guards," Saishu said reasonably. "You have to know that by now. I accept it, so do Shinzou and Kakashi."

"But why is it the only thing we ever seem to do?"

"We're mercenaries and bounty hunters Kooky," Shinzou said. "We don't exactly have a wide selection of jobs to choose from. Investigations, police and guard work, most people prefer to send that kind of stuff to one of the ninja villages. The only reason we get as much work as we do is because assassination is always the most expensive mission for ninja, and we'll do it for about half what a proper village would charge."

"If you don't want us to perform assassinations any more the new won't," Saishu said. "There are other options. We can start taking some of the bounties on recapturing escaped prisoners instead."

"That will take us twice as long and we won't make even a tenth as much!" Shinzou objected.

"It will be fine," Saishu said.

Shinzou looked at his little sister. "Is that what you want?"

She frowned. They could stop doing assassinations and concentrate on capture bounties instead. The problem was Urusai had it right; their income would take a severe drop. After trading away her diamond necklace to pay for her brother's freedom she'd been forced to part with several more rings and gems in order to establish themselves here. She still had some of the jewels stashed away, but she wanted to hold onto them for any future emergency. Money was absolutely vital to her plans for restoring the Uzumaki and helping her son take back what was his. They needed to have as much revenue as possible.

"No," she said slowly. "I suppose not. It's just that… well…"

"What?"

Kushina looked at her brother. "Is this all we are now? Just a bunch of killers for hire, ready to even help a lordling commit patricide so long as the price is right? I mean I know assassination is part of a ninja's duties, but shouldn't there be more? I never felt like that when we had our clan. We assassinated people, sure. And we did some other things I'm not proud of, especially during the war. But I always felt we had honor! I always felt like the Uzumaki stood for something and we had a greater purpose."

Shinzou nodded slowly. "Of course we did," he spoke sadly. "We were the guardians of Whirlpool. We served and protected the village and its people, that was our mission, that was our purpose."

"Then what are we now?" She asked.

"Mercenaries trying to reestablish our clan." He answered. "That's our mission now and earning money is just a part of that. We can't be squeamish about what we have to do if it means protecting the people we love."

Kushina carefully nodded. Urusai had a point. Everything they were doing was for Uzumaki and for the precious people in her life. She couldn't refuse to do what she had to even if it did make her sick at times. _But we need a greater mission. The Uzumaki need to be guardians again, protectors. Otherwise the next generation will grow up thinking all we really are just a bunch of mercenaries. _Right there and then Kushina came to an important decision.

"Family meeting when we get back," she announced.

Her uncle and her brother both looked at her.

"Now what are you up to?" Shinzou asked suspiciously.

"You'll find out when everyone else does."

XXXXXXXXXX

"Here you are," Jin said politely as he handed over a nondescript paper bag. "Two hundred thousand ryu."

"Thanks," Shinzou said as he took the money and slipped it beneath his body suit. When they'd returned to Kiyosu Kushina had asked him to take the head to the bounty station and collect the bounty. Shinzou grunted his agreement. Even after five years of taking bounties and having to work with Jin he still couldn't stand the little worm. He might have been the one to rescue him but it had only been for the money. He would have fed him to the dogs just as easily.

"Do say hello to the kids for me."

He grunted and left.

On the outskirts of town was a large house surrounded by a big yard and fence. Part of the house looked newer than the rest. They'd had to add on to provide room for everyone who lived here. When he walked in though the front door he called out. "I'm home!"

He was answered with a couple excited squeals. Tearing out of the living room came a four year old and three year old, Michio and Minori, his sons. "Daddy!" They cried in unison.

"There are my boys!" He happily reached down and picked them both up.

XXXXXXXXXX

**Five Years Ago**

"You need to get married and start having kids," Kushina told him.

"Kids? Married? What are you talking about? I just got out of an Iwa prison camp. I never even thought I'd _see_ a woman again. I'm not interested in anything but having a little bit of fun."

"Listen Urusai this isn't just about you having fun! Counting my son there are only four Uzumaki left. And since I expect him to take his father's name one day there are really just the three of us to restore the clan. That means for the good of the clan you're going to have to get married and start fathering the next generation of our family! Uncle Saishu certainly can't do it."

"Hey!" An indignant Saishu cried out. "What does that mean?"

Kushina looked at him with an apologetic grin. "No offense uncle but, well, you are _old_."

"I'm not that old!"

"Anyway," she turned back to her brother. "The clan needs you to have children, _legitimate _children with a wife."

Shinzou frowned at her. He couldn't deny the logic or that he had a duty that superseded his own personal wants. But having only just gotten his freedom back it seemed awfully unfair to have her fitting him out for a different sort of chain. "What about you?"

"What about me?" She asked.

"You're nineteen, healthy, and obviously able to have kids if you have a son already. I assume you'll be helping me repopulate the clan."

"Nope," she said with a smile. "The only man I'll ever love is gone. I won't have a child with anyone else."

"But…"

"I **said **I won't be having any more children. So the burden falls on you. It's easier for a man to have kids any way. It's just too bad polygamy is illegal."

Less than two months later he was married to Aoi.

XXXXXXXXXX

"Welcome home dear," His wife came out to greet him. She was a lovely woman with dark hair, honey colored eyes, full breast and wide hips. Kushina had found her for him and practically forced them together. Not that he'd objected _too_ much. She had a very gentle and loving nature and he had won her over to him with ease. She'd come from a poor background and so her family had been happy to see her married off to someone who was of a ninja clan and had at least some wealth. Perhaps best of all she had chakra coils, though they were far too weak for her to mold them into any sort of jutsu. But the fact that she had chakra practically guaranteed all their children would be able to use jutsu.

She was everything a man could hope for in a wife and mother. She was faithful, loving, kind devoted, and committed. And if there was no great passion between them they at least liked each other and lived happily together. As she gave him a soft kiss he noted the swell in her belly. Their first daughter was due in about three months.

"Where is everyone?" He asked as he put his boys down.

"Saishu is in his room, Kakashi is out training somewhere, Shizune is working at the hospital, Tsunade took Naruto out a while ago, and Kushina went out looking for him."

"Tsunade took Naruto out _with_ her?" He said nervously. "Please tell me she didn't take him to _that_ place again."

"She didn't say where she was going."

"She took him there then," he said with certainty. "Well at least Kushina should find them pretty quick."

XXXXXXXXXX

"Winner!" A man cried out.

All around the table people cheered and applauded. Tsunade was all smiles as she saw the pile of chips on the craps table get bigger. She quickly moved a couple stacks of the plastic chips to a spot on the table. "All right dear, momma needs a new pair of shoes."

"You do godmother?" Naruto asked as he took the dice from her.

"That's just a saying sweetheart," Tsunade said happily. She was never happier than when she was winning. "Actually I want you to roll a hard eight."

"That's two fours, right?"

"It sure is! What a smart boy you are!"

Naruto smiled proudly. He really loved when godmother brought him to this casino place to let him play with her. He always got a lot of cheers and attention from the people here and he always had fun. "Here goes!" he shook the dice in both hands and let them go. They tumbled all the way to the end of the table and bounced to a stop, four little black dots on each.

"Winner!" The dealer called out and there were fresh cheers and applause.

Tsunade smiled even wide as still more chips were added to what she had. _Naruto-kun with your luck and my knowledge we'll end up owning this place. _She was looking over the table deciding on her next bet when a familiar killer intent hit her. She sighed without even turning around. "Hello Kushina."

XXXXXXXXXX

As they returned to the house Kushina had her riding on her back and Tsunade still pleading.

"I'm telling you if you'd just let me take him to the Isle of Torikae for a week we'd never need to work again."

Kushina sent her a hostile glare. "Damn it Tsunade how many times have I told you I do **not **want my son gambling?"

"But he's a natural! I've never seen anyone with such great gambling instincts of such good luck at the tables. If you'd let me bring him to the casinos on Torikae we'd make enough to buy the place!"

"I don't care! I don't want him gambling!"

"But it's fun momma," Naruto said innocently. "And it always makes godmother happy."

"I know that Naru-kun," his mother said patiently. "But it's not something I want you to get used to. It's a bad habit."

"But godmother said she'd teach me how to play black jack next week."

Kushina sent Tsunade a smoldering glare.

"What?" Tsunade said defensively.

XXXXXXXXXX

Everyone gathered in the living room for the family meeting.

Kushina stood there in front of all of them and spoke. "The past five years here have been good ones and I've enjoyed them. But Naruto is getting to that age when I am going to have to start increasing his training and really begin showing him what it is to be ninja. Part of that includes explaining to him why we do what we do. I want him to understand what it means to be part of a clan and to be committed to protecting something greater than yourself. And I don't think I can do that here."

"Uh oh," Shinzou said.

"I want Naruto to grow up in a ninja village." Kushina said.

Everyone began looking a little nervous. "Which village?" Tsunade asked.

"Suna."


	5. A boy on a swing

For foreign ninja entering a ninja village was anything but routine. In theory the mere act of having one village's ninja enter another without permission could constitute an act of war. For the individual ninja it was a crime punishable by death. As a rule a foreign ninja could only safely enter another village with a document signed and sealed by that village's leader. This was not always easy to acquire. So following Kushina's bold declaration they did not simply pack up and leave.

Formal requests for visas were sent out. In turn they received official documents asking them to explain the reason and nature of the proposed visit. For Kushina, Saishu, and Shinzou they could simply request permission to take residence and reestablish their clan. Being from a village that no longer existed they were considered, 'non-aligned.' Meaning they held no allegiance to any other village and no village had declared them to be missing nin. They would request, 'resident' status. Tsunade and Shizune were both active Leaf nin. Though they had special permission from the Hokage to travel as they pleased. They could only request, 'guest' status. They would ask to be allowed to enter and stay in the village while remaining foreign ninja. Kakashi was in an unusual position. He had declared he would no longer serve his original village. But rather than brand him a missing nin the Hokage had granted him permission to go. Despite the declaration and the Hokage's acquiescence he was still viewed by other villages as having ties to Konoha. Kakashi decided it would be best if he too requested, 'guest' status.

Kushina's group had a couple advantages. First off Tsunade was not only famous as a Sannin, but as the acknowledged leader in the field of medical jutsu. Meanwhile Kakashi not only possessed the legendary sharingan but had garnered a reputation as an elite assassin. In the shinobi world that was something to take real pride in. As a result they received temporary visas and permission to visit Suna after only six weeks.

XXXXXXXXXX

Kushina had grown up by the sea in a place where it rained almost every day. Later she had lived in Konoha and in River country. Places filled with trees and a wide mixture of plant life. Suna was located in the heart of a vast desert. Traveling there they literally crossed hundreds of miles without spotting a single living thing. Seeing this barren wasteland with her own eyes made her question her decision.

"Why are we doing this again?" Shinzou asked during one of their regular water breaks. They were traveling light so that everyone could get there in one quick two day trip. Most of their possessions were coming by wagon and would be a couple weeks behind. Shinzou was carrying his wife. Saishu had Michio on his back and Kakashi was carrying Minori. Kushina of course had Naruto.

Kushina looked over to her brother as she and her son had some salt tablets to go with their water. "Like I said, I want Naruto and the boys to grow up in a ninja village not in a mercenary band."

"But of all the ninja villages why'd you pick the only one in the middle of a desert?"

"I decided it had to be one of the five great villages. Otherwise there would always be the danger of Konoha intimidating our new village if they ever decide they want to force us, or Naruto, to return. Leaf and Iwa are out for obvious reasons. Kiri is in the middle of a civil war right now. And I'm not sure I'd want to permanently settle in a place nicknamed, 'Bloody Mist' anyway. I would have considered Kumo except they had that little border war with Leaf a couple years ago. I still remember because there was some sort of incident during the peace negotiations. A former friend of mine, Hyuuga Hizashi, was sacrificed to appease them. Feelings between Kumo and Konoha are still hard. You, me, and uncle might get permission to go there but I doubt they would let Tsunade, Shizune, or Kakashi in. So that left Suna."

Shinzou made a face and swallowed a salt tablet. "Kooky we're water types. What good are we going to be in the middle of this?" He waved about at the arid terrain.

She shrugged. "I'm sure not _every _mission we go on will be in the desert. Besides, a sword works just as well in any climate."

XXXXXXXXXX

About forty miles from the village they were met by a patrol. They presented their papers and were then escorted the rest of the way to Suna. At the village entrance they were again required to present their documents. The guards there made a show of checking them and confirming they really were valid before finally allowing them entrance.

The journey had been a bit rough on Aoi and the kids. She asked if there was anywhere they could go to relax while the others went to the Tower of Wind to await an audience with the Kazekage. The four man squad that was acting as escorts / guides put their heads together. They finally decided that Aoi and the children could wait in a nearby park where one of the Suna nin would keep an eye on them. Everyone else continued on to the Tower.

XXXXXXXXXX

When they arrived at the park they saw a large number of children playing a game that involved kicking a ball around. Michio and Minori wanted to see if they could join in. Naruto spotted some swings and headed in that direction. There was only one other child on the swings. A little red haired kid with a teddy bear clutched in one arm.

Too late the Suna nin realized who that boy was. He wanted to shout a warning to the little foreigner. But he didn't dare draw that sort of attention to himself.

As Naruto approached the swings the other boy looked up at him.

"Hi there," Naruto called out. "Mind if I join you?"

The boy blinked a couple of times and just stared at him. Finally he gave a mute nod.

That was enough for Naruto. He sat down on the swing next to the quiet boy and began to swing himself back and forth trying to get higher and higher. The other boy wasn't swinging. He was just sitting there watching silently. After a few minutes the boy suddenly spoke up. "Aren't you scared of me?"

"Huh?" Naruto stuck out his feet and skidded to a halt. "What did you say?"

"Aren't you scared of me?" The boy repeated morosely. "Everyone else is, even my family, everyone but uncle Yashamaru."

"Why would I be scared of you?"

All at once the sand in front of them began to fountain and dance about. "That's why," the boy said. "I can do that so I'm a monster." The boy watched as the other child stared at the dancing sand. He knew what was coming next. The other boy would start screaming and run away as fast as he could.

Naruto suddenly looked away from the sand and gave the red haired boy an excited grin. "That's so cool!"

The red haired boy blinked. He wasn't sure how to respond. He'd never gotten _that _reaction from anyone.

"You're so lucky!" Naruto continued, totally oblivious to the other boy's surprise. "I can't do any jutsus yet. My mom says I have to let my chakra coils develop some more first. But she's already promised to teach me lots and lots of jutsus. Not just my mom either. My uncle, my grand uncle, and Kakashi-niisan all say they're going to teach me jutsus and all sorts for weapons and fighting styles! I can't wait!" He abruptly made an unhappy face. "My godmother keeps saying she'd going to teach me medical jutsus but that sounds boring! It's o.k. though, she'd taught me lots of other cool stuff like how to shoot craps and play black jack." He suddenly leaned in close and gave the other boy a look of keen interest. "Hey! Do you think you can teach me this jutsu?"

The red haired boy blinked again. He couldn't remember anyone ever talking to him this much. "It's not really a jutsu," he explained quietly. "It's just something I can do naturally. I'm the only one who can do it."

"Aw, that's too bad." Naruto sounded disappointed but continued to smile. "But it's still really cool though."

The other boy just continued to sit there looking at him.

"So you want to be friends?" Naruto asked.

"Friends?" The red haired boy sounded uncertain. "You want to be friends with me?"

"Sure," Naruto replied easily. "So do you?"

"Yes!" The boy shouted, showing real emotion for the very first time. "I don't want to be alone anymore!"

"Uh, o.k.," Naruto said, caught a bit off guard by such a big reaction to such a small thing. He stuck out his hand. "I'm Uzumaki Naruto."

Tentatively the other boy reached out and gingerly took the hand and gave it a weak shake. "I am Sabaku no Gaara."

"Well it's nice to meet you Gaara; I hope we can be good friends."

"I hope so too."

XXXXXXXXXX

The two of them played at the swings for awhile until Michio and Minori came over with their mom. Apparently the teams playing ball were set and they had gotten bored with just watching. Naruto introduced his cousins and aunt to his new friend and told them about the neat things he could do with sand. Though a bit hesitant Gaara finally agreed to put on another demonstration. The two younger boys as well as their mother were suitably impressed. For the first time that he could remember Gaara was using his power without feeling like some sort of freak.

Soon all four boys were running around playing together under Aoi's watchful eye. When the local kids noticed that Gaara was playing with other children their own game came to an immediate halt. They all kept watching, expecting Gaara to suddenly attack his playmates at any moment.

XXXXXXXXXX

That evening when Gaara went home uncle Yashamaru was there to greet him like usual. Also like usual his father, sister, and brother were all avoiding him. But for once he didn't really care.

Yashamaru noticed the difference in his nephew immediately. "Gaara, you're smiling, did something good happen today?"

"Yes uncle Yashamaru," Gaara answered with a rare excitement in his voice. "I made some friends."


	6. The warmth of a hug

"Three days," Kushina growled. "It's been three days and we _still _haven't been given an audience with the Kazekage."

"I know," Shinzou said patiently. "I was there too."

She gave her brother an exasperated look. "You're not helping you know."

He shrugged. "It's not like anything I say would really help."

When they had arrived they had been brought to the Tower of Wind and told the Kazekage would meet with them. They'd spent the entire afternoon sitting in the lobby waiting as others arrived and were shuttled in and out of the Kazekage's presence.

While they waited.

Finally a secretary had informed them the Kazekage was done for the day. She told them they would have to return early the next morning to again await an audience. Kushina had asked about setting up an appointment, only to be politely told there were none available. They would simply need to come back and wait for some opportune moment when the Kazekage might, 'find time' for them.

Kushina and all the ninja did as they were instructed. They had spent all day yesterday and all day today sitting there. Forced to watch as others were permitted to meet the Kazekage as they cooled their heels. And at the end of each business day a secretary would come over to inform them they would need to return again tomorrow morning.

"He's doing this on purpose," she growled.

"Obviously," Shinzou said.

"If you don't have anything useful to say then don't say anything!" Kushina snapped. She had decided on this course. She was the one who had uprooted them from a pleasant routine in River country and brought them to the middle of the desert. Now not only were her efforts running into a stone wall, she was being made a fool of. "If he doesn't want to meet with us why the hell did he approve our visas and give us permission to come here in the first place?"

Shinzou grinned at her. "You're not looking underneath the underneath Kooky."

"Don't call me that, you know I hate being called that!"

"Fine then, you stop calling me Urusai (Shut up.)"

"Like that'll ever happen." She stuck her tongue out at him.

Saishu let out a groan. "I swear you two are behaving like children."

Annoyed she looked at her big brother. Growing up he had always been more logical than she had. He's had a real gift for strategic thinking and solving mysteries with the clues given. She on the other hand had been blessed with a devious mind and the ability to think on her feet and think outside the box. As a child it had helped her invent some interesting pranks and later on helped her set up ambushes and other surprising ploys. Her brother however had always been better at spotting patterns and figuring out what the enemy was up to.

"All right, **Shinzou **what do you think is going on?"

"The Kazekage is just putting us in our place is all," he told her. "He wants to make it clear that even though we have a Sannin with us and the Copy ninja that we need his help more than he needs us. This is just his way of letting us know we're not really that important."

"Humph, well if we're not that important maybe we should stop going to the Tower and just wait for him to contact us."

"That would be a mistake," her uncle jumped in. "It's no accident that a secretary keeps coming up to us to tell us to come back the next morning."

Shinzou nodded. "She's certainly acting on instructions. The Kazekage _wants_ us to be inconvenienced and unhappy. He wants to make sure we're at least committed enough to put up with a little bother in order to meet with him."

Kushina didn't look happy. As usual her brother was making some good sense. "So what are we supposed to do?"

"What else can we do? We keep going there every day, all day, until he finally decided to meet with us."

"What if this is all just some sort of joke to him and he never meets us?"

"You don't invite a whole group of powerful independent minded ninja into your village just for a joke. He is definitely interest in us; don't doubt it for a second."

"So what do we do?"

"What can we do? We keep going there every day, all day, until the Kazekage sees fit to actually meet with us."

"And how long will that be?"

Shinzou shrugged his shoulders. "Who knows? Days, weeks, maybe even moths, I'm not the one to ask. The only one who knows for sure is the Kazekage."

"Wonderful," she muttered.

The door to their hotel suite opened and Aoi came in followed by the children. When Kushina and the others had arrived she'd hoped to be given a residence that could become the new Uzumaki compound. But so far she'd heard nothing on that front. So for the time being they were renting suites in the most expensive hotel in Suna.

Shinzou greeted his wife with a kiss and then gave each of his boys a hug. Kushina picked her son up and planted a whole bunch of kisses all over his face. "Did you have fun in the park today Naru-kun?"

"Yeah momma," he said excitedly. "We got to play all day, it was great." A small shadow of sadness crossed his features. "But most of the other kids wouldn't come play with us though, they stayed away."

_Looks like they don't like foreigners here an more than they do in Konoha. _"Don't worry about it honey," she said lightly. "I'm sure they'll play with you once they get more used to you and your cousins." _At least here they don't call you demon or monster._

"They stayed away because of me," a quiet voice called from the hallway.

Kushina glanced over to see a very nervous little boy standing there clutching a teddy bear in his arms. She noticed there was a pile of sand at his feet. "Hello, and who are you?" She asked in a friendly tone.

"This is Gaara," Aoi answered. "He's the boys' new friend. I invited him to come and have dinner with us. I hope that's all right."

"Well of course it is," Kushina said happily. She was glad that Naruto and her nephews had started to make friends. "Any friend of my Naru-kun is always welcome. I'm Kushina, Naruto's mother. That is Shinzou, Michio and Minori's father and that is Saishu my uncle. Won't you please come in?"

The boy looked at her with a mix of fear and hope. "Thank you very much for inviting me," he said softly. As he entered the suite she noted that the sand followed him in moving just like a living thing. He saw the way Kushina was watching the sand at his feet. "It's all right," he said nervously. "I promise I won't cause any trouble and the sand stays with me so it won't make a mess."

"Isn't it cool momma?" Naruto said. "He can make sand do anything he wants!"

"That's a very interesting kekkei genkai you have," Saishu said. "I've never seen anything quite like it."

Gaara looked at the man confused. "What's that?"

"It's what's known as a blood line limit," Kushina said. "An ability that is inherent to certain people with certain DNA. You're able to use sand like that because of what's in your blood. Hasn't your family ever explained to you where your powers come from?"

Gaara cast his eyes down. "I get my powers because I'm a monster."

Kushina and every adult in the room stiffened. "Who told you that?" Kushina demanded.

"Everyone," the boy said sadly. "Everyone calls me a monster, even my family, everyone but my uncle Yashamaru. He's the only one who has never called me that."

Kushina set Naruto down and then knelt in front of Gaara. "Come here." She reached out and brought the boy into her arms and embraced him. It was the first time anyone had ever hugged him.

When she touched him Gaara stiffened with fear, afraid she was going to try and hurt him. The sand reacted to his emotions and began jumping about wildly. But he didn't will it to attack her and it didn't automatically rise to prevent her contact. When he realized that Gaara understood she wasn't trying to hurt him. Whenever he was in danger or whenever there was intent to harm the sand would react on its own. As his fear passed the sand at his feet settled back down. He abruptly realized that this felt… good. This embrace felt warm and comforting, it felt good to be held.

"You poor child," she said to him tenderly. "You're no monster; you're just a little boy. And whatever is in your blood doesn't change that. The people who say that to you, **they're **the monsters. Never ever call yourself that again. You're a human being and no one should ever see you as anything else."

He didn't understand why, but hearing her soft words and feeling the warmth of her arms and body he suddenly began to cry.

"Shhhh, there, there," she whispered to him and stroked the back of his neck. It broke her heart to see how deeply he was affected by just this tiny bit of comfort. Hadn't this poor boy ever been shown any kindness at all? Just what sort of family did he have? _Is this what would have happened to Naruto if I had dies and he'd been left all alone? _It was a horrible thought and made her wonder if this place was really any better than Konoha after all.

She held and soothed him until his tears finally passed. Then she gave him a happy smile. "All right, no more sad feelings, o.k.?"

The boy nodded and wiped his eyes. "O.k."

"Now let's order room service and have a nice dinner."

XXXXXXXXXX

A couple hours later the adults were sitting watching as the children played together. Looking at him Gaara seemed no different than any of the other children. (Aside from the sand that followed him about.)

There was a knock on the door. Kushina got up to answer it. Standing there was a slightly effeminate looking fellow with long blonde hair. She also noted he wore a Suna hitai-ite, marking him as a ninja. "Pardon me," he said in a courteous voice. "But is Gaara here? I have come to take him home."

"Uncle Yashamaru!" Gaara called out happily. He got up and ran over tot eh other man's side.

The man smiled down at the little boy. "You seem very happy Gaara, did you enjoy visiting?"

"Yes uncle, they were all very nice to me." He looked up at Kushina. "Thank you for being so nice to me, no one else ever has been." He glanced back at the man. "Except for uncle Yashamaru."

"It was our pleasure Gaara," she informed him. "You are welcome to come and visit us any time that you like."

"Really?!" Gaara said excitedly.

"Of course," she reached down and patted the top of his head. "You are a good boy Gaara; I can't imagine how anyone could ever see you as anything else. Only a fool would blame a child for something that was inside of him. You can only choose what you do not who you are."

Yashamaru heard her words and stood there silently. "Thank you for being so generous to Gaara," he finally said.

Kushina smiled at the man. "Well of course, he's just a child after all."

"Yes," Yashamaru said. "Of course he is."

XXXXXXXXXX

They were walking through the darkened streets of Suna hand in hand. Yashamaru could not remember ever seeing the little boy so happy. For his part he tried to hide the feeling and thoughts that were swirling about inside of him. His exterior he managed to keep calm. No one looking at him would ever guess he had strapped fifty explosive notes to his chest and was planning to kill himself and his nephew.

When he had set out to transport Gaara home he had determined that it would be tonight. He had tried to love Gaara, tried to see him as the last remaining link to his beloved onee-sama. But no matter how he tried he couldn't bring himself to love the boy. It had been his fault his precious sister had died. She'd been sacrificed to make him a living weapon. She had named him Gaara meaning it to be a curse, 'the demon that loves only himself.' She had died cursing him and the village. He resented Gaara, hated him for stealing her away. And yet…

_Only a fool would blame a child for something that was inside of him. You can only choose what you do not who you are… he's just a child after all._

Those words from that woman. Why did they bother him so? Gaara wasn't just a boy! He was a monster! He was the reason his sister had died. Ending his existence was the right thing to do!

"Yashamaru?" The boy called uncertainly.

"Yes Gaara? What is it?" He spoke in the same gentle tone he had always used around him.

The boy looked fearful. "Uncle would you… would you hug me?"

Yashamaru blinked, caught totally off guard by the request. "Yes, if you like. We are family afterall."

The boy held out his arms to him eagerly. Yashamaru bent down and took him into his arms.

_Now is the time, _he thought. _I should do it now while I am holding him._

"Warm," the boy murmured. "It feels so warm."

"Yes," Yashamaru said quietly. "It is warm. When… when I was a little boy your mother would hug me like this. It always made me feel happy to have onee-sama hug me."

"I wish I still had my mommy." Gaara said.

"Yes, so do I."

Gaara looked up at him. "Yashamaru, if my mother were alive would she hug me?"

"Of course, if she had lived she would have treasured you and always wanted to hold you."

"I miss her," he said. "But I'm glad I at least have you uncle."

"I…" he hesitated. _He doesn't seem like a monster right now. _He picked Gaara up and began to carry him in his arms. "Let's go home Lord Gaara."

XXXXXXXXXX

As they approached the Sabaku mansion a lone figure waited for them by the gate.

"Father," Gaara said nervously.

"Gaara," he spoke coolly. He had never once referred to him as son and didn't ever plan to. "You seem unusually happy."

"I got to visit with my friends and their family."

"I see."

"They, they say I can visit them whenever I want. Is… is it all right if I go see them again tomorrow?"

The Kazekage gave a curt nod. "Certainly, spend as much time with them as you like." The man then shifted his focus to Yashamaru. "I am a little surprised to see you here. I _had _thought you were going to handle that mission I'd assigned you tonight."

Yashamaru bowed his head. "I apologize Kazekage-sama, but I have had a change of heart. With your permission I would like to decline the assignment."

"I see," the man said neutrally. "That's fine; I won't force you into it."

"Thank you Kazekage–sama."

As the Kazekage watched Yashamaru bring Gaara inside an interesting idea was forming. _Perhaps there's a way to solve my problem and still keep him for the future._

XXXXXXXXXX

The following morning Kushina and all the ninja of her party were once again in the Tower lobby.

"Here we go again," she muttered quietly.

"Excuse me," the secretary that dismissed them at the end of each business day approached them.

_Now what? _Kushina wondered. "Yes?"

The secretary bowed and motioned for them to follow her. "The Kazekage will see you now."


	7. The whirlpool of the desert

Every ninja village had its own traditions and own way of doing things. The long delayed audience with the Kazekage only served to remind her of that. It wasn't the fact that she and the others were required to submit to a search and had to hand over all their weapons. (Though letting a stranger take her katana almost felt like letting someone take Naruto from her.) Every village required foreign ninja be disarmed prior to meeting the village leader. Only ninja of the same village were permitted into a leader's presence armed. It had been the same way in Whirlpool and Konoha. So while she didn't like it she accepted it.

No. What she really objected to was being required to kneel. Her father had served as the leader of Whirlpool for most of his life. His title was not Kage but Headsman, visitors would offer him a bow or nod of the head as a polite greeting and he would _always _return the courtesy. Though he took great pride in being the leader of the Uzumaki clan and Whirlpool village he never behaved as though he walked above the earth. Sarutobi too, despite his other faults, was always courteous and respectful to his guests whatever their status. He was the undisputed leader of one of the five great ninja villages, but had a manner of a kindly grandfather rather than a powerful ruler.

But apparently the Kazekage preferred a different image. After being searched and disarmed they were ushered into his office and informed they were required to kneel and not speak until the Kazekage gave them leave. As though _that_ were not enough he was sitting on a small raised dais behind a cloth screen. With an open window behind him they could see his silhouette, but were not permitted to look at him directly. It reminded Kushina of stories about speaking with demi-gods who had come to earth. In those tales even glimpsing the true form of the divine was enough to cause instant death. _Perhaps he is made of a different flesh, _she thought unhappily. _Maybe if he is cut water or wine flows out instead of blood. But somehow I doubt it. _The reverence the Suna ANBU and servants showed also bothered her. They really did seem to act as though he were a kami made flesh rather than simply the strongest ninja of the village.

But having come this far and at last having been permitted an audience she knew better than to share her thoughts. _We have to be the ones to adapt if we're going to live here. I can't expect everyone to have the same traditions of home. _So she went in and knelt and lowered her face as she'd been instructed.

"We welcome you," a voice spoke smoothly from behind the screen. "Please do forgive the delay in meeting; we fear it was unavoidable."

Kushina lifted her eyes, though she remained kneeling. "We are simply grateful to be allowed into your presence and to be given this opportunity to speak with you."

"Yes," the voice replied as though expecting that very answer. "And what business have you brought before us?"

"Kazekage-sama, we have come before you today to ask your leave in reestablishing our clan here in the village of Suna. If you will grant us a home here and recognize us as a clan then we will pledge to you the same devotion and loyalty we gave to our original village."

"A whirlpool in the desert," the Kazekage said with a faint trace of amusement. "Are all present included in this request?"

_No, and you damn well know it. _"No Kazekage-sama," Kushina answered politely. "The request is only for the members of my clan, myself, my brother, and my uncle and will of course also include our children and descendants."

"And what would the others ask of me?" The Kazekage inquired. "Is it your intention to remain here or return to your own villages?"

"With respect," Kakashi spoke. "Though I left my ancestral village I have no desire join another. I would however be willing to work on behalf of this village on selected missions that did not take place in Fire country or oppose the forces of Leaf."

They could see the shadow of the Kazekage's head turn towards Kakashi. "We were under the impression you had abandoned the Leaf village, yet you object to opposing them in the field?"

"I did leave the village," Kakashi replied. "For my own reasons. However I still have many comrades and friends among the Leaf nin and I would not want to draw their blood." As he said that a picture of Rin's sad face came into his mind.

"For the famed Copy Ninja we are certain that some accommodation could be reached."

"As for myself," Tsunade spoke up. "I have seen too much killing all ready. In any case despite everything I've gone through I'm not ready to sever my ties with my grandfather's village. What I will do is work in the local hospital and teach others medical jutsu. That's _if _Kushina and the others end up staying of course."

"We would be greatly honored to have the services of the legendary Sannin Tsunade, even if it is limited."

"I…" Shizune hesitated and had to gather herself. "I would like to stay awhile and help the lady Tsunade and the others. But at some point I would want to return home to Konoha." Tsunade looked at her apprentice slightly disappointed, but said nothing.

"We understand, you will of course be free to leave whenever you choose." The silhouette seemed to focus back on Kushina. "This village suffered terrible losses in the previous war, losses that have left Suna shorthanded. We would be pleased to welcome three Jonin into our service. We offer each of you the honored title of Suna ninja and the rank of Jonin."

"What about a residence and recognition of our rights as a clan?" Kushina asked warily.

"We fear we cannot grant you such. You will be welcomed into the village and permitted to serve as regular ninja."

Kushina's mouth set in a hard line. "I am very sorry Kazekage-sama, but I am afraid that is not good enough. If we are to come here and serve you and this village then we must be granted the rights and privileges of a clan."

"Must you?" The voice said much too gently. "In Suna there are only eight clans. They are referred to as the Eight Great Houses. They are each guaranteed a place on the Council of Wind and granted all sorts of special privileges and rights. Were we to recognize you as a clan Suna would have a ninth Great House. Why should we allow you such an honor when all you bring with you are three ordinary ninja?"

Kushina clenched her hands and tried to keep the fury from her voice. "With _all_ due respect Kazekage –sama, the Uzumaki have **never **been ordinary ninja. If you doubt me you have only to speak to the Tsuchikage or any other ninja from Iwa.

"Actually we spoke with the Tsuchikage some years ago prior to the war, back when we were negotiating, before we became Kazekage. You would be interested to know that the Tsuchikage **did **mention your clan, he also praised of it."

Not only Kushina but Saishu and Shinzou all wore matching expressions of total disbelief. "Forgive me, Kazekage-sama, but I find it hard to believe that the Tsuchikage would ever praise us. We were the most bitter of enemies."

"Well… it was praise of a sort. He was speaking of his intentions in the coming war and mentioned he planned to conquer Whirlpool before moving on to Waterfall. I believe his exact words were, 'the land there isn't really worth having. But it's worth destroying just to get rid of the damn Uzumaki.'"

Kushina heard her brother chuckle. "Dad would have liked that."

Kushina smiled fondly. "Yeah I think he really would have."

"Still," the Kazekage continued. "Even if you were fierce opponents of the rock ninja that alone is insufficient reason to grant you the title of clan. Clans are normally created because they have some unique ability. Tell us, does your clan possess a kekkei genkai?"

"We do not," Kushina admitted. "But clans are formed because they possess either a unique ability or **skill**. We Uzumaki have always been recognized as the most skilled of swordsman. All three of us who kneel before you are fifth level blade masters, the highest rank. We are the deadliest users of the katana in all the elemental lands."

The head behind the screen bobbed up and down. "A most useful skill we grant, but still insufficient for establishing a Great House."

"With all due respect Kazekage-sama, our skills and training techniques **are** worthy of recognition. I am certain other villages would agree. We are ready to be your most faithful and devoted guardians, to fight for you and lay down our lives for you, as my clan did for three hundred years in out village by the sea. But only if you permit us to be a clan. We will not remain here if we are to be treated as ordinary ninja. And as our friends have stated they will not remain either. Surely the services of three expert swordsmen, the world's top medic nin, and the famous Copy Ninja warrant the establishing of a new clan?"

She saw his arms come together front of her chest. In her mind's eye she pictured a man in Kage robes steepling his fingers. "We fear it is not enough."

_Damn it! Damn it! Damn it! I brought everyone here for nothing! _There was no point in joining a ninja village if they were not going to be allowed to stay together as a clan. A clan meant your fighting style and your traditions were always respected. It meant that each generation would grow up together strong and united, bound together not just by blood and by name but by custom and common practice. The Uzumaki had been a clan for three hundred years and had been among the founders of Whirlpool. She would not be the one to let her beloved clan begin to wither and fragment.

"In that case, Kazekage-sama, I fear I have wasted your time." Without asking permission she rose to her feet. Seeing this the others got up as well. "I sincerely thank you for granting us this audience, but if you will not grant us clan status the n I think it best that we leave."

"Is clan status really so important to you?" The Kazekage's voice seemed to almost purr.

Kushina narrowed her eyes. _He wants something. _"It is absolutely vital; we will not remain here without it."

"We _could _grant you what you seek. But there has been no new House in Suna in over fifty years. Were we to grant you such an extraordinary privilege it would require some equally extraordinary service in return."

"I see," she replied carefully. "Does the Kazekage have a particular service in mind?"

"There is a child, our male offspring, who possesses the potential for great power but who we fear may be dangerously unstable and therefore a threat to all those around him."

"Your male offspring? You mean your son?"

"No," there was iron in his voice. "That child is **not **our son even if he does hold our blood. It is our wish that you adopt this child into your clan and take responsibility for him. If you will agree to this then we will grant you a residence and name Uzumaki the Ninth Great House of Suna."

"You want me to adopt your s… your offspring and raise him?" She was shocked. Her son was the most precious thing in the world to her. For that matter all the members of her family were more precious to her than gold. (Even her annoying brother.) How could a man be so heartless as to get rid of his own son? "I… I would have to at least meet the boy first before I could give you my answer."

The Kazekage chuckled. "You really don't know do you?" he sounded very amused. "You have already met him. In fact we believe you had dinner together just last night."

"Gaara?" She gasped. "Gaara is your son?!"

"He is my offspring," the Kazekage said coldly.

She remembered what the little boy had told her.

_Everyone calls me a monster, even my family. _

She hadn't wanted to believe that. How could family members be that cruel to their own flesh and blood? Now, shockingly, it turned out that Gaara was part of the ruling clan. She'd assumed he was just part of a regular ninja family. And the Kazekage, his father, refused to refer to him as son. _What sort of cruel heart does he have? _

"Will you accept our terms? We must tell you that once Gaara is adopted he will be expected to obey the laws and customs that other ninja follow. **No **exceptions will be made for him," the Kazekage sounded almost savage. "Should he kill or otherwise break the laws of this village both he and you will be made to suffer for it. He will be completely your responsibility."

"In every village I have ever heard of a ninja is free to defend himself if attacked and his fellow ninja would be free to help him," Kushina said coolly. "Is that also the case here?"

"It is," the Kazekage replied.

"In Konoha the clans were given the right to deal with trespassers in any way they chose including killing them on sight."

The shadowed head bobbed up and down. "We have a similar law. The clans are considered to be sovereign within their estates."

Kushina took a deep breath. "In that case, Kazekage-sama, I will adopt Gaara myself. He'll be my second son. I will raise him to be a fine Uzumaki and I promise I will keep him safe."

"Be certain to keep the village safe _from _him as well."

"Just so long as the villagers don't try and attack him," she said happily.

She again saw the Kazekage nod again behind his screen. "Very well then, we will grant you the rights and privileges of a clan and Great House."

Kushina nodded and allowed herself a tiny smile. "The Uzumaki of Suna. The whirlpool of the desert."

She liked the sound of that.


	8. Uzumaki Gaara

Following the most eventful meeting with the Kazekage the Uzumaki's and the others returned to their hotel suites. There was a lot to plan. Once they were given their new residence they would move into it and start preparing it. Their furniture wouldn't arrive for about two weeks but Kushina wanted them all to move into it as soon as possible. Kushina would also need to welcome Gaara into the clan and family. Since he was already friend to her son and nephews she hoped it wouldn't be too difficult. They would also need to learn about their new home the laws, local customs, and power structure. Kushina had a depressing certainty that a lot of people were going to resent her and her clan. As in Konoha she and the others were likely to be viewed as outsiders who had just shown up and stolen something they had no right to. (Great House status.) Kushina was determined to do everything she could to fit in. While holding firm to her clan's traditions of course.

While the Uzumaki, Tsunade, Kakashi, and Shizune were discussing these plans they had an unexpected visitor.

"Yashamaru, please do come in," Kushina opened wide the door and let the man inside. "If you're looking for Gaara he is at the park with Aoi and the children."

"No," he told her. "I was actually hoping to talk to you and your kinsman. Is it true that the Kazekage has asked you to adopt Gaara? And that you have accepted?"

"It is," Kushina confirmed with a grimace. "And to be honest I think it will be best for everyone involved, especially Gaara. If his own family really calls him a monster and his father refuses to even acknowledge him as son then I am sure he will be much happier living as part of my clan." Looking at him she offered a reassuring smile. "Don't think I include you in that though, it's obvious Gaara loves you and that you are kind to him. You'll be more than welcome to see him whenever you like, and of course you will remain his uncle regardless."

Kushina was surprised to see that the result of her words was an expression of deep melancholy. "How is it," he asked softly. "That a group of strangers who know nothing of him have shown Gaara more compassion than his own family or village?"

Kushina blinked. "Well I have no idea why he is treated so badly. I am just treating him as a little boy. How else would I treat him?"

"Tell me," Yashamaru asked. "Did the Kazekage inform you the _reason _he is treated as he is, or the source of his power over sand?"

"No," Kushina answered. _Why am I getting a bad feeling about this? _

"For your sake as well as for Gaara's I feel that you need to know the full truth." He glanced at the others in the room. "May I speak to you in private?"

Kushina looked at all of them. "Would you mind?"

One by one everyone else filed out leaving just the two of them.

"All right," Kushina said. "Now what is it you want to tell me?"

"To begin with, what I am revealing to you is an S-rank secret. By giving you this information I am committing a capital offense and placing my life in grave danger."

"Then don't tell me! Yashamaru whatever it is if it's S-rank you must not speak of it."

"I have to," Yashamaru said determined. "No matter the consequences I owe it to Gaara and to you who have shown him such compassion. You deserve to know the truth about him before you adopt him. Now tell me, have you heard of the Biju?"

She felt ice in the pit of her stomach. _Does he know about Naruto and the Kyuubi? _"The Biju are great demons who walk the earth. Tailed beasts of immense power. The Kyuubi who attacked Konoha was one such." She had mentioned the Kyuubi deliberately and waited to see if he would expand on that subject.

Instead he merely nodded. "Yes, the Kyuubi was the nine tailed Biju, there are eight others, including the one tail Shukaku. Have you ever heard of him?"

"Can't say that I have," Kushina admitted. "Before the Kyuubi's attack I had never even heard of Biju."

"Well the important thing to know is that they are indeed creatures of immense chakra and destructive force. And it is possible to control this vast power by placing the demon's spirit into a new born using a special seal and a human sacrifice."

"Is that so?" She asked nervously. _Does he know? Does the Kazekage know?_

Yashamaru nodded sadly. "Such a person is referred to as a jinchuuriki. Gaara is such a person; he had the Shukaku placed within him at the moment of his birth. While his mother, my beloved sister, was made the human sacrifice against her will."

"What?!" She gasped. Her thoughts had been focused on Naruto and _his _demon. "Are you saying Gaara has a demon inside of him?"

"Yes, the one tail Shukaku. Following the end of the war when the Kazekage was elevated to his position he began to fear that Suna would be overwhelmed by other more powerful and numerous villages. He felt there was no choice but to rely on the overwhelming power of, 'special weapons.' And so he chose to sacrifice both his wife and his son for the sake of creating such a weapon."

"Wait a minute! Are you saying this was done deliberately? Suna wasn't being attacked and the Kazekage forced to act to save his village?"

Yashamaru looked at her in a bit dazed. "Attacked? No, the Shukaku _did _attack the village many years before, but was captured by the First Kazekage and imprisoned within a metal container. The Shukaku had been contained and rendered harmless. The Kazekage made a deliberate choice to remove him from his prison and place him within Gaara so that the Biju's power could be harnessed."

She thought she was going to throw up. When Minato had suggested using their unborn son as the Kyuubi's container it had been an act of desperation and heroic sacrifice. Minato did not ask someone to sacrifice themselves, though if he had she was sure there would have been countless volunteers. He felt that as Hokage the responsibility was his, and his alone. And just as he felt that sacrifice fell upon him he felt that Naruto, as his son and heir, had the duty to act as the Kyuubi's container. It had nothing to do with gaining power. To think a man would _deliberately_ do that not only to his son but to his wife as well! What sort of cowardly monster could be that unfeeling? And all just to make his child a weapon.

"I think I see why people call him a monster," she said coldly. "Though so far as I can see it's this Kazekage that is the real monster! He was the one who made the choice! What choice did Gaara have in all this?!"

The man slowly nodded. "That is true, but I am afraid that is not how most people see it." _Not even me, until just recently. _"The people see Gaara as the Shukaku incarnate and are terrified of him. What's more the sealing was not properly performed. He is unable to sleep. If he ever falls asleep the demon would gain control of his body. This forced insomnia has left Gaara a little mentally unstable. It also caused the Kazekage to fear he might not be able to control, Gaara. So he decided to cancel the experiment."

"Just what the hell does that mean? Cancel the experiment?"

"He ordered that Gaara be killed."

There was a long painful silence and Kushina took that in.

"So he essentially, he murdered his wife, implanted a demon into his own son, and then when he was scared of the very situation he created he tried to murder his son. The more I learn about him the more and more I wonder if I shouldn't have brought my clan somewhere else. Maybe Lightning wouldn't have been too bad after all. Well, Gaara is still alive; does that mean the Kazekage had a change of heart?"

"No," Yashamaru said solemnly. "He sent one of his top ANBU assassins to kill him. But Gaara's sand automatically protects him from all harm. Not only did Gaara survive the assassination attempt but he killed the man."

"He killed him? That little boy killed an ANBU?"

"Yes, and that was not the only time. There have been several assassination attempts, all have ended with the assailants death. The sand provides Gaara with an absolute defense that no enemy seems able to defeat. It also gives him lethal striking power. He may only be a child but do not doubt that he _is_ a living weapon of great power."

Kushina shook her head. The boy was only six! Just a year older than her Naru-kun. All ninja had to learn to deal with killing sooner or later but to have already killed so many at such a tender age! It was horrible. She could understand why he had seemed so fearful and why he had reacted so strongly to a simple act of compassion. Just what sort of life had he had up until now?

"Now you know the truth of his situation. If you take Gaara into your home you will be living with someone who will always be a bit unstable and who will have the power to kill any of you with ease." He paused. "Do you still intend to adopt him?"

"Of course!" She snapped. "Do you think I'd let that poor child endure that sort of abuse a minute longer?"

"For Gaara's sake I am very glad to hear that," he bowed low. "Thank you for the great kindness you have shown him. Please take good care of Gaara." He turned to go.

"Yashamaru, I thank you for telling me all this. You are a good man. I can see why Gaara cares for you."

_No, I am not a good man at all. _He left silently without looking back.

XXXXXXXXXX

When everyone else returned the told them the news.

Hearing it Shinzou looked at his sister with wry amusement. "You're going to be the mother of two jinchuuriki. That has **got** to be some kind of record."

"So are you still adopting him?" Kakashi asked pleasantly.

"Of course!"

"Aren't you just a little bit nervous about the whole mentally unstable weapon who can kill ANBU with ease?"

"No," Kushina said flatly. "That boy is no more a monster than Naruto is. He's just a scared little boy who has had nothing but hatred and abuse aimed at him. If my poor Naru-chan had stayed in Konoha alone he would have suffered the same I bet. I'm sure that as soon as he is brought into a loving environment he will adapt and become much happier."

And so when a little later Aoi returned from the park with all the children everyone gathered to give Gaara the news.

When Kushina informed Gaara that he would be adopted by he stood there staring up at her.

Naruto had a stronger response. "Yahoo! This is so great! I get to have a real brother!" He looked over to Kakashi. "Uh, no offense Kakashi-niisan."

Kakashi grinned beneath his mask. "None taken."

Kushina looked down at the little boy who was still just staring at her. She'd expected more of a reaction. "Well Gaara what do you think?

He answered shyly. "Will… will you hug me and let me call you mother?"

Laughing at the solemn answer she swept him up into an embrace and planted kisses all over his face. "Of course my little Gaara-kun! From now on I am your kaasan, Naruto is your bother, and we will all be family to you in one way or another. You are my son, Uzumaki Gaara, and from now on you will never b unloved or alone again."

He smiled and closed his eyes. He wondered if the strange feeling in heart was what they called happiness.

XXXXXXXXXX

"What have you done?!" An outraged Kazekage yelled at him. He was not in his formal robes now. He was not on stage giving a performance. This was the real man in his home. A clever man with great intelligence and a shrewd politician and bargainer. A man who knew how to play the angles and make people see what he wanted them to see. But behind all that was someone who was always a little bit afraid. Someone who longed for greatness but did not really possess the necessary strength of will and character to achieve it.

The man who had sacrificed his precious onee-sama in order to make a weapon. And then had decided to render that sacrifice meaningless by destroying that very weapon. _How could I have ever served him? _"I told our guests the truth about Gaara," Yashamaru said patiently. "They deserved at least that much before adopting him."

"And what if they refuse now that they know he is a monster?!"

"You needn't be concerned on that score Kazekage-sama. Unlike you Kushina views Gaara as a boy rather than as a monster. She still intends to adopt him."

The man stared at him with unbelieving eyes. "Why did you come here to tell me this?" he demanded. "Had you kept silent I would not have known. But as it is I cannot allow this to pass. You revealed an S-rank secret; this cannot be forgiven or forgotten."

"I know."

"Then why? Is your life so unimportant to you?!"

"The reason is simple Kazekage-sama, I can no longer bear the shame of serving the man who killed my onee-sama, nor can I forgive myself for planning to kill my innocent nephew."

"Innocent? Gaara is a monster!"

"Perhaps," Yashamaru permitted. "But even if he is it was not his doing. That choice was yours alone. For that I should have killed you, but my duty as a Suna nin would not allow that. I can only hope that my death will redeem my failings in life."

The Kazekage shook his head. "Your death is pointless and meaningless," he signaled a pair of guards. "It will change nothing."

As the two guards took him out of the Sabaku mansion to the place of his execution Yashamaru held his head up high. _Live long and well Gaara. Onee-sama, I will be with you soon._

**Spoiler…**

**Spoiler…**

**Spoiler…**

The following refers to events in the recent manga. If you do not wish to know them please do not read any further.

**Author's Note: **I was just curious to find out if anyone else out there has the sense that Naruto; the manga may be heading towards its final conclusion? I don't mean within the next few chapters, but maybe within the next year? What really makes me wonder is the sudden body count of favored characters who have been killed off. Now when Asuma died that was fine as it made a serious point. Jiraiya dying was really shocking but, by itself, might have been o.k. as it was a sign of Naruto's truly casting off childhood and becoming a real adult. But now suddenly Kakashi is dead, and it seems clear that yes, he really has died. Shizune was killed almost as an afterthought. The fact most of the Pein's have been destroyed don't matter but it seems he is about to be removed from the stage as a major villain. Also Danzo is still about somewhere with coup plans meaning Tsunade may not be safe. With so many major characters disappearing so quickly I do wonder if it's part of a mad dash toward the final conclusive confrontation between Naruto and Sasuke and Naruto's eventually becoming Hokage.


	9. A last request

**Two Years Later**

**Ages:**

**Temari: 11**

**Kankuro: 10**

**Gaara: 8**

**Naruto: 7**

**Hinata: 7**

**Michio: 6**

**Minori: 5**

**Hanabi: 3**

**Miwa (Daughter of Shinzou): 2 **

"Have a good day dear," Aoi gave him a quick kiss then hurried to see why little Miwa was crying.

"I'll see you later," Shinzou said and headed out the door. It was his day to take care of training.

Even though it was still morning it was already getting hot. He and the others had taken to wearing turbans like the locals did. Though unlike most of the locals who mostly wore shades of tan and grey he and the rest of his clan wore the black and red of their traditional battle dress. That made them stand out, but it was part of their clan tradition and identity. There was never any thought of giving them up.

Stepping out into the courtyard of the Uzumaki complex he was still struck by how… bland it looked. They had been given a large house with eight bedrooms and a courtyard running out a hundred yards in each direction. The entire compound was surrounded by an iron fence. By local standards it was a luxurious local, and he had to admit the house itself was very nice. But it was the courtyard that always bothered him. It was just empty ground. Nothing but sand and gravel. In Suna water was considered more precious than gold and the laws concerning how it could be used were absolute. Even the Kazekage could not violate them. Lawns were not permitted, and even gardens could only be grown to produce specific herbs and required a permit. The original Uzumaki compound had been filled with luscious grass and in their home in River country they'd also kept a nice lawn. It still seemed odd to him to think that even though they were an official clan with a seat on the Council of Wind they could not even have a lawn. It was just one of the many, many differences he'd had to get used to.

Out in the courtyard the boys were already waiting for him. All of them were dressed in black and red body suits with swords on their backs and other equipment hanging on their belts. Walking up to them he gave them all a big smile. "Has everyone got a full water canteen?"

Immediately both Michio and Minori groaned, while Gaara simply nodded.

"Yeah!" Naruto said energetically.

Michio looked at his blond cousin with an annoyed frown. "Do you have to be happy about going out to the wastes?"

Naruto looked back at him with an unapologetic grin. "You bet! Since that means we'll do some jutsu training!"

Shinzou nodded his head in silent agreement. The courtyard was more than big enough for regular practice. But jutsus needed a lot more room to be used safely.

"Uncle Shinzou?"

"Yes Gaara?" He knew what the boy was going to ask. And sure enough…

"Will we also be working with taijutsu and sword work?"

"Don't we always?"

The boy looked at him questioningly. "I still don't understand why I have to learn taijutsu or how to handle a sword. I won't ever need them; I'll always fight with my sand." To prove his point the sand at his feet leapt into the air and danced around him violently.

Unfazed Shinzou gave the same reply that he, his uncle, and his sister always gave to that question. "You need to learn taijutsu because it's an absolute basic skill for any ninja. If your sand should ever fail you for any reason you can still defend yourself with fists and feet. The same applies for your sword. Plus it's a clan tradition that all Uzumaki learn how to wield the blade."

Gaara looked anything but convinced but he still nodded and let the sand settle back down around his feet. "Yes, uncle."

Shinzou had no doubt that Gaara would bring up the same point again tomorrow and the next day and the day after, the boy was tireless if nothing else.

"Dad," Michio spoke up. "Are we going to do circle drills?"

In reply Shinzou leaned forward just a bit and grinned malevolently. "What do you think?"

Now all the boys but Gaara let out a groan.

"You know that's child abuse." Michio said.

"Just try and think of it as a clan tradition son. Your granddad did it to me and so now I must do it to you. Now let's get going."

Without any real complaints the four boys formed up and they went out the gate. As they left Shinzou looked back at the clan symbol that was on the gate. The image of a swirling whirlpool, the symbol of clan Uzumaki, Ninth House of Suna. That at least had not changed.

Suna, like Whirlpool village but unlike Konoha, had no designated training grounds. Being surrounded by an endless tract of open flat ground instructors were permitted to take students out of the village for training purposes. Once outside they would simply pick out a spot and get to training. These training sessions would last all day so it was important that they all had water.

XXXXXXXXXX

As they were walking through the village towards the gate they drew plenty of hostile looks. No one said a word; no one made a gesture, all the people seemed to have the courage for was to look. They all knew the target for the hateful stares. Gaara had his mask on and he was looking right back at them as though they didn't exist. When Gaara was in the compound surrounded by family and friends he would smile and laugh and seem like a normal good natured kid. (Except for the pile of sand that followed him about like a puppy.) Whenever he left the compound the mask came firmly into place. He never reacted to anything and pretended to be totally apathetic.

It was Naruto who reacted to all the glares and hard looks. He hated the way people treated his big brother, and just because he could do things with sand! To him what Gaara could do was amazing and should have been respected, not hated. (At this point in time neither boy knew what a jinchuuriki was or what the seals on their bodies were for.) A tiny growl was coming from the back of his throat.

"Naruto!" Shinzou said sharply. He could see his nephew was getting ready to let the people around him know what he thought of them. "What have I told you about self control? A ninja does not **ever **lose control of himself for any reason."

Naruto looked at him, clearly upset. "But shouldn't I defend Gaara when he's attacked?"

"If he is attacked _physically _then of course, we will all draw our swords and protect him. But to lose control of yourself and start shouting at people just for looking at him is not proper behavior."

"You don't need to protect me," Gaara said quietly. "If anyone attacks me I'll deal with it. You don't need to endanger yourselves for my sake."

Shinzou looked at him and frowned. "Anyone who attacks one Uzumaki attacks us all. _Of course _we would fight to protect you. Just as I am sure you would fight to protect Naruto or any of us if we were attacked. Besides… do you have any idea what your mother would do to me if I let anything happen to you?"

That _almost _got a smile out of Gaara.

"Come on; let's not waste time worrying about what people think. We have training to do."

They left the village and headed out into the wastes without incident.

XXXXXXXXXX

A very weary Sarutobi was trying to bring this meeting of the Council to an end. Hyuuga Hiashi had not attended due to the sudden downturn in his wife's condition. Uchiha Fugaku had taken advantage of his main rival's absence to dominate the proceedings. Sarutobi kept a very wary eye on the Uchiha clan head. Rumors were floating about concerning attempts to make deals and draw closer to some of the other clans. He was trying to increase his power base. Given the vast wealth and influence he already enjoyed thanks to the Uchiha clan and the Military Police his clan dominated the man might become a real threat. There were already whispers that he was aiming at become the Fifth Hokage.

_Just how far are you willing to go Fugaku? _Sarutobi wondered. That the man was ambitious there was no doubt. So long as he acted within the law Sarutobi had no real objection to his pursuing the position of Hokage. But he'd begun to receive disturbing reports from a special source that suggested the man had much more ruthless intentions.

"If there is nothing else let us conclude this meeting of the Council," Sarutobi said.

"Actually Hokage-sama there is one more piece of business I would like to bring up for debate." Fugaku spoke.

Sarutobi nodded wearily. "Very well, what is it you wish to discuss Fugaku?"

"I want to authorize a hands mission to Suna to kidnap or kill Uzumaki Naruto."

XXXXXXXXXX

Hyuuga Hannah was lying in her bed with her daughter Hinata lying comfortably next to her. Hannah was exhausted; she'd fought the sickness for more than a year. She'd wanted to go on living, not just for her own sake but for her darling husband and her precious daughters. She didn't want to leave them.

But she knew she would have to leave them soon. Her vision was failing and just breathing was getting to be hard. The disease had sapped her of her strength bit by bit, until she did not have the strength to even go on living. Along with Hinata her darling husband and several members of the clan were there as well watching over her.

She stroked her daughter's hair. Hinata was such a good girl, how she hated having to leave her!

"Hinata-chan?" She whispered.

"Yes momma?"

"Hinata-chan my darling, do you know momma loves you?"

"Yes, and I love you momma!"

Hannah smiled and hugged her daughter with her all her remaining strength. "Hinata-chan, momma is going to be leaving you soon." With those words the others in the room began to murmur. Hiashi remained rigid and silent, his eyes locked onto the scene before him.

Hinata squirmed and pressed herself against her mother's chest. "Are you going to die momma?"

"Yes," she breathed. "Yes, I am afraid I am. I don't want to but I fear there is no choice."

"Please don't die momma!" Hinata wailed and began to cry.

"Oh my darling I would stay with you forever if I could. But kami follows his own plans and he has decided that my time on earth is at an end. Be brave my precious child and watch out for your little sister. Know that even after I am gone I will always be with you in your heart."

"I… I'll be brave momma."

"Good my darling, now please let me rest for a little bit." She looked up at the others. "I'd like everyone but my husband to leave please."

Taking Hinata with them they slowly filed out leaving the two of them alone. Hiashi sat down on the edge of the bed and gently took his wife's hand into his. "My darling," he spoke with a rare tenderness.

"Hiashi, my love, my husband, there are things we must speak of before it is too late."

"As you say my wife," he answered solemnly. "I am here and I am listening."

"Hiashi," she looked up pleadingly. "Please, when I am gone, be gentle with our girls, be a kind and loving father to them."

"I promise you Hannah that I will be a responsible parent and that I will see both of our daughters are worthy of our clan's main branch."

"That is not what I asked you," she said weakly. "Hiashi be **kind **and **loving **to them, just as you were to me. I want you to smile and laugh as you did when we were younger. I've seen you change Hiashi. When your father died and you became clan head you put on a mask for others. You became the proper and serious man you thought you needed to be, but when you were in private you still used to smile and laugh. But when Minato and Hizashi died I watched as the mask slowly became your true face. Now I fear that when I am gone you will stop smiling and laughing all together and become the man you once only pretended to be. The solemn unbending man who cares only for appearances."

"That would never happen Hannah," he said to her.

"Then why did we stand aside and let Kushina and Minato's son be cast out? Minato was your dearest friend and you know how deeply he loved her. How could we do nothing?"

"I know that Minato loved her," Hiashi answered. "But he never married her. Had she been his wife and Naruto his heir I would have placed the Hyuuga clan in their service and given them all my protection. But she was never anything more than his mistress, no matter how he treasured her. To have publicly defended her claim would have been…" he hesitated trying to find the right word.

"Embarrassing?" Hannah offered. "Undignified? Beneath us? Is our reputation worth so much more than the people who are dear to us?"

"I did all that I could behind the scenes," Hiashi said. "Fugaku was screaming that the child be executed and Danzo wanted to make him a living weapon. I used all my influence to help the Hokage at least ensure that Minato's child survived."

"That was not enough, for all that Minato and Kushina meant to us we should have done so much more."

"I did all that I could," Hiashi offered weakly. "Had I done any more…"

"People might have believed we valued our friends more than we value our precious reputation. Would that be so terrible?"

"I did what I thought best Hannah."

"Yes," she acknowledged, fatigue thick in her voice. "And I am also to blame; I could have tried harder to convince you. But instead I accepted your decision, and in so doing we betrayed Minato, the man who gave his life to save all of us. What would he say Hiashi if he could see what we have done? Do you imagine he would understand?"

"No, I suppose he would not," Hiashi admitted sadly.

Hannah took a long shuddering breath. "Hiashi, my time runs short; I have a last request to make of you my husband. My death bed request. Will you promise to fulfill it no matter what it is? Even if it embarrasses the clan?"

"I cannot promise that until I know what the request is."

"No, I want your promise first. Hiashi if you ever truly loved me then promise me you will do this last thing for me. Grant me your promise and let me pass on with a little bit of peace. Please Hiashi, for the love you bear for me."

He looked down at his frail wife, so pale and fragile. He remembered when she was younger and they were courting. She'd been so full of life then. Whenever she would look at him she would smile and he would see joy there in her eyes. She hadn't cared about marrying the Hyuuga heir; she had simply and honestly loved him. And he had always loved her.

"Very well my love," he gently squeezed her hand. "If this will bring you comfort then I will not deny you whatever you may ask. I give you my most sacred and solemn promise, whatever your wish I will carry it out."

A brittle smile came to her lips. "Thank you Hiashi-kun, hearing you say that is a great comfort to me."

"Then tell me Hannah-chan," he spoke tenderly. "What is your wish?"

"Please send Kushina a marriage contract, offering to betroth Hinata to her son Naruto."

XXXXXXXXXX

**Author's Note: **And THAT'S how Hinata and Naruto could meet.


	10. Two questions

**Seven Days Later**

The speaker phone on his desk buzzed and was followed by the voice of one of his secretaries. "Hokage-sama, Uchiha Fugaku is here as you requested."

"Thank you," Sarutobi replied. "Send him in please."

The door to his office opened and in walked Fugaku, clan head of the Uchiha, Military Police Commissioner, member of the Council, and eager candidate to succeed him to the position of Hokage. A very shrewd and dangerous man with a great deal of political power in the village. At the last Council meeting the man had caught completely off guard with a request for a hands mission to Suna. Because sending one's ninja into another village could be viewed as an act of war the five great villages had come to an unspoken, 'understanding.' If a foreign ninja was taken captive within the bounds of a ninja village his home village could simply declare that he had acted completely on his own. Thus washing their hands of him, and allowing his captors to do as they pleased with him. This protected the villages, and put their ninja in a hopeless position if captured. It was a dirty little game, but one all the villages played against each other.

Fugaku's sudden request and the strong support he received had been quite troubling. It had been done as an obvious show of strength of Fugaku's part. In the end Sarutobi, seeing he could not win the Council to his viewpoint, simply refused the request and ended the meeting. The Council and the clans wielded great power in Konoha, but only the Hokage could order a hands mission. But though Sarutobi had denied the request the way he had been forced to do it felt like a defeat. Whether or not Fugaku could muster the same support with Hyuuga Hiashi there to oppose him was unknown. But it was now clear to Sarutobi that the man was getting ready to start openly opposing more of his policies. If it was at all possible he needed to try and rein the man in.

Fugaku stood before Sarutobi's desk and offered him what certainly looked like a friendly bow. "How may I help you Hokage-sama?"

"I am curious Fugaku," Sarutobi said in a clear voice. "Why were you so adamant that we carry out a hands mission in an allied village? Whether we succeeded or failed we would have risked damaging the trust between us and Suna."

"I have always found the idea of ninja villages, _trusting _one another a strange one. By our very natures ninja are a secret and deceptive lot. I would prefer to rely on our own strength rather than on paper alliances."

Sarutobi grunted unhappily. "The alliance with Suna has helped bring much greater stability to Konoha since the war."

"Is it the alliance the cause of that?" Fugaku inquired. "Or is it the fact we defeated the forces of Iwa, Suna, and Ame proving to the other village our real strength?"

"Our strength is not as great as it once was," Sarutobi reminded him.

At those words a slight flash of anger played across his features. "Yes, because of the Kyuubi's attack and losses we suffered." For Fugaku the memory of that night was one of personal loss, several Uchiha had died fighting to delay the Kyuubi. "I never made any secret of what I thought should have been done with the Kyuubi following the Yondaime's noble sacrifice."

"There was no Kyuubi," Sarutobi reminded him sharply. "There was only Uzumaki Naruto, a new born you would have murdered in his crib."

Fugaku was unmoved by the image. "One death to guarantee the Kyuubi could never again threaten this village. To have spared him was dangerous. But to have actually allowed him to _leave _and serve another village? That was reckless, bordering on criminal."

Sarutobi looked at him coldly. Fugaku wasn't going to be reined in; he seemed to be looking for confrontations. "Do you wish to accuse me of something Fugaku?"

Fugaku bowed his head. "Of course not Hokage-sama, after all we all know that the great Professor never made a mistake."

"I do not recall ever making such a claim. Any man who honestly believes he has never made a mistake is a true fool. I have made mistakes, but I do not believe sparing Naruto or permitting him to depart with his mother to have been such. I believe they were the best options given the circumstances."

"Then we remain in disagreement. Because of the _compassion _shown another village has the potential power of the Kyuubi at its disposal, had I been listened to this danger would not exist."

"I do not feel we are in any immediate danger from Naruto or from Suna."

"And if you are wrong Hokage-sama? Or if the situation changes in the future? What then?"

"If I should consider Naruto as a _genuine_ threatto this village I will act accordingly. But it is my judgment that not only is he not a threat but the mission you suggested would only cause this village harm, no matter what the result." Sarutobi deliberately hardened his tone. "I _trust _you will not try to circumvent my order and arrange a hands mission yourself?"

"Of course not," Fugaku replied. "That would be treason."

"I thank you for your reassurance," Sarutobi said.

"You know Hokage-sama there was another matter relating to this subject I wanted to bring to your attention."

Sarutobi grimaced. Whenever Fugaku sprung a surprise it tended to be bad. "What is it?"

"It's the little matter of the Namikaze estates and fortune that are currently being held in trust by the village. The sum total of which is worth I believe about a quarter of a **billion **ryu? Not to mention the value of the scrolls that are locked away there."

Sarutobi turned a steely eye to him. _So this is the next way he intends to challenge me. _"What about them?"

"Holding a property in trust implies that it will eventually be claimed by the proper owner. But given the fact the Namikaze clan is extinct that wouldn't seem to be the case."

"The Namikaze bloodline has most definitely _not _been extinguished."

"And yet the Namikaze family line _has _been. If there are no legitimate heirs I believe the village should seize the properties and do what we think best with them."

"There is still one potential heir," Sarutobi said coldly.

Fugaku grinned. "Really? I was not aware of anyone. Who is this person who is to inherit the greatest fortune not only in Konoha but in all of Fire country?"

"Do not play games with me Fugaku, we both know Naruto could inherit one day."

"No, Hokage-sama, **I **know no such thing. Uzumaki Naruto may be many things, but he will **never **be a Namikaze."

"And **I **say it is at least possible and so the properties must remain in trust."

"Then we are in disagreement. I should warn you Hokage-sama, I will bring this matter up at the next Council meeting."

"You are free to do so, though perhaps I should warn you that Hiashi has informed me of something that might affect Naruto's status within the village."

"What could Hiashi possibly do that could have any effect whatsoever on that?"

Sarutobi had a small smile. He liked being the one to spring the surprise for a change. "To know that I fear you will have to wait until the next Council meeting. Though I suppose you could ask Hiashi directly."

Sarutobi saw the man's mouth twist in distaste at the image of his pleading for information from his greatest rival. "I think I will wait, though I doubt whatever it is will be of any importance."

_You might be very surprised. _Sarutobi thought.

XXXXXXXXXX

Kushina had been taken by surprise by the arrival of a packet from Konoha. Her surprise only increased when she saw who it was from. Her first instinct was to throw it away unopened, rather like a spiteful child. But she knew the Hyuuga would not send a message to her for no reason. And she had to confess she was a little curious what they Hyuugas could want after all this time. So taking the packet into her bedroom she opened it and looked at the documents and the letter inside. She also looked at the photograph that had been included. _Now what is this about? _The photo peaked her interest and she looked closer at the documents. There were two of them, they were two copies of the same form, both bearing the signature of Hyuuga Hiashi and the seal of his clan. Across the top of the forms were the words, 'Marriage Contract.' She did a double take.

XXXXXXXXXX

"What do you think they're all talking about?" Michio asked. As soon as they'd returned from training his aunt Kushina had called in his dad and all the other adults except for his mom.

"Don't know," Naruto said. "But it must be important; they've been in there a whole hour." He looked to where Gaara was. "What do you think?"

"I have no idea," Gaara said. "But since they are all talking it really must be important. Especially since they've used a silencing jutsu."

Naruto looked upset by that. "I don't like that, we're all family, we shouldn't have secrets."

Gaara looked at him a bit glumly. "There are _always _secrets."

"Well we are ninja after all," Michio said.

The door to Kushina's bedroom opened and she popped her head out. "Naru-kun, come in here please."

Michio looked at his cousin in surprise. "What did you do?"

"I didn't do anything!"

"Then why are you in trouble?"

"No one is in any trouble," Kushina said in a friendly tone. "We just need to have a word with you son."

Naruto gulped nervously and slowly walked into the room. Kushina shut the door and all sounds were again swallowed up.

Naruto had been in his mom's room plenty of times of course. But this was the very first time he could remember everyone else being in it too. His mom, his uncle, and his grand uncle were all sitting on the edge of her bed smiling down at him. For some reason they sort of reminded him of a tribunal about to pass judgment. Kakashi, Tsunade, and Shizune were all seated in chair in a little semi circle between him and the door. He noticed they were all looking at him with a great deal of intensity.

"Uh," Naruto began. "Whatever I did I'm sorry."

"You haven't done anything Naru-kun," his mom said.

"Then why am I the only one in here?"

"It's because you're the only one about to have a ball and chain attached to you," Kakashi said pleasantly.

"A ball and chain?!" Naruto said freaking out.

"He's joking, he's joking!" Kushina said trying to calm him down.

"No I'm not," Kakashi said.

"You're not helping!" Tsunade growled at him.

"Naruto, come here," Kushina patted her lap. Naruto obediently came over and climbed onto her lap. He was starting to get a little big for this but she didn't mind and put her arms around her son. "Naru-kun, you know how I've told you there are important things that I will tell you when you get older?"

"Yeah, secrets," he said unhappily. "Why do we have to keep secrets from each other?"

"Every family has some secrets Naruto," Saishu said. "But a ninja clan can keep whole closets full of them."

"But why grand uncle? Aren't we supposed to love and trust each other?"

"Keeping a secret doesn't have to mean we don't love and trust the other person Naruto," Saishu explained. "But it's a basic truth that the fewer people who know a secret the better. If a person doesn't need to know it then you shouldn't tell them. Even _if _you trust them completely."

"And sometimes it's just easier not to mention certain things," Kakashi said.

Naruto nodded in some understanding. "You mean like with you and your books Kakashi-niisan?"

Kushina flicked a look in Kakashi's direction. "What books?"

"He's talking about some of my training manuals," Kakashi answered swiftly and sent Naruto a pleading look.

"Oh, yeah, training manuals," Naruto nodded vigorously.

Kushina glanced at Naruto and back at Kakashi. _Well this isn't suspicious. _She decided not to worry about it; there were more important issues at hand. "Well, in any case Naruto something very important has happened today that may affect your future. It may not make too much sense now, but it will one day."

Naruto knew he was born in Konoha and that his father died facing the Kyuubi. Kushina had told him that she had loved him with all of her heart and that he had loved her and that they had both wanted him more than anything. He also knew that his father had been a powerful ninja and the member of a clan. Kakashi and Tsunade both told him stories about his father with the details all carefully edited. And oh yes, he knew that they had been **married**. His mom seemed to make a really big deal about that.

That was all he knew about his father. That he was the sole heir to the Yondaime's legacy and one of the world's greatest fortunes was a carefully guarded secret. As was what lay sleeping inside his body.

"Wait, aren't you going to tell me some of these secrets?"

She smiled sadly and stroked his cheek. "I'm sorry Naru-kun, but you're not ready yet."

"When will I be ready?" He whined. He knew he was old enough all ready and he was impatient to know more.

Kushina grinned at him. "I'll tell you everything the day I give you your katana."

Rather than please him that made him groan.

XXXXXXXXXX

**Flashback**

"Kaasan!"

"Yes Naru-kun?"

"I don't want to use a regular sword any more. I want a katana like yours and uncle Shinzou's and grand uncle's."

"I'm afraid you can't have one yet," she told him with an amused tone.

"Why not?"

"Because you're not ready."

"When will I be ready?"

"When I say you are." Kushina told him with a laugh. And no matter how much he whined or complained or pleaded her answer never changed.

XXXXXXXXXX

"Shouldn't we tell him the reason we actually brought him in here?" Shinzou said.

Kushina smiled. From behind her back she produced a portrait picture. It was of a little girl around Naruto's age. She was dressed in a formal kimono with her hair done up. She had pale lavender eyes without pupils and was staring solemnly. Her mouth was a flat line. "Naruto tell me what you think of this picture."

He took the picture and stared at it for a moment. "I think she's pretty, but she looks really sad. Who is she mom?"

"Her name is Hyuuga Hinata, a member of the Hyuuga clan, one of the most powerful and influential in Konoha. She is the eldest daughter of Hyuuga Hiashi and Hyuuga Hannah, two people who I counted as dear friends but who did not try to help me when I needed their help most. The reason she looks so sad is because I am afraid her mother passed away recently."

"That's awful," Naruto said sympathetically.

"Yes, I think so too," Kushina said sadly. "Anyway, before her mother died she asked her husband for a last request. It seems she really was a good friend after all, but hadn't been strong enough when the time came. She wrote me a letter telling me how she always regretted that and how she hoped she could make up for it by offering you a betrothal to her daughter Hinata. Her wish was to bind our two families together and to help you get what is rightfully yours one day."

"What do you mean what's rightfully mine?"

Kushina smiled. "I'll explain when you get your katana." He groaned. "What matters is that a connection to Hyuuga would be immensely helpful to you. I have decided to accept the offer, but son; I will never force you to take a spouse you don't want. The final decision will be yours. If you don't like her, or if you don't want her for any reason you can cancel the contract prior to the final ceremony. But I will accept on your behalf for right now. This means that she will be coming here for a betrothal ceremony. Of course the final ceremony won't be until you both come of Age and are 16. So you have plenty of time to decide." Kushina looked at her son hopefully. "So what do you think?"

"Sure mom, that's fine." He answered easily.

"Really?" Kushina said in relief. She'd been expecting him to freak out at the idea that this little girl was being picked out for him as his future wife. "I'm glad you're so accepting of all this."

"Well if you think it's a good idea then I'm sure it is kaasan. But I do have two questions."

"What honey?"

"Well what's a betrothal and what's a spouse?"

_Damn it, I knew it was too easy! _"Well Naru-kun, a betrothal is a promise to marry, and a spouse is just another word for husband or wife."

Naruto stared at her blankly. "I don't get it."

"That girl in that picture Naruto?" Kakashi spoke determined to clear things up. "You're going to marry her when you turn sixteen."

"SAY WHAT??!!"

_And now let the freaking out begin, _Kushina thought wearily. _Thank a bunch Kakashi._


	11. A signed contract

After finally getting her son calmed down Kushina decided she would be better off talking to him alone after all. So she had everyone leave so that she could try and explain things to her son.

"But why do I have to marry her mom?"

Kushina tried to seem reassuring and gently pated his shoulders. "You don't honey. Like I said I would never force you into a marriage. I married for love, and I want you to as well. The marriage contract is not absolutely binding. It can be cancelled up until the day of the wedding."

"But then why do I have to agree to this at all?"

"Because if we don't the offer will be rescinded," she explained. "Naruto-kun, marrying into Hyuuga would have some major advantages for you. Especially in Konoha."

"Why would I care about that?" He asked. "I don't want anything to do with that place."

Kushina frowned at the unexpected roadblock. _Hmmm, I suppose I should have expected that. I've made it a point to instill him with pride in his Uzumaki heritage while he still doesn't know a thing about Namikaze. _"Naru-kun, you have my blood in you and are an Uzumaki. But you also have your father's blood in your veins and so are a part of his clan as well. One day, when you are older, I hope to see you take your rightful place as your father's heir. That will mean returning to the place of your birth, Konoha."

Naruto looked at him mother with a surprised expression. "But I don't want to. I'm an Uzumaki; I don't want to be part of my dad's clan."

"But son, your father's clan was a very powerful and important one, and there would be a _very _high place for you in it."

Naruto crossed his arms over his chest and got a muley look on his face. "So what? I'm the Uzumaki clan heir; someday I'll be the clan head. There's no way I could do better than that."

Kushina blinked. It was true that her son was Namikaze clan heir. She was clan head and he was her biological son. Technically Gaara was her oldest son, but he was adopted. Since he did not have Uzumaki blood that disqualified him. Naruto had been designated heir simply for convenience, but she had always planned that he would take back what was rightfully his. And to do that he had to return to Konoha and be recognized as a Namikaze. That would become much easier if he were married to a member of Hyuuga. If _that_ clan considered him worthy of a blood tie then all the other clans would look at her son very differently. She'd assumed the difficulty would be in convincing the people of Konoha her son should inherit his father's legacy.

She'd never thought convincing Naruto would be a problem.

"I'll tell you what son," Kushina said warily. "Why don't you hold off on deciding what clan you want to be a part of until _after _I tell you about your father, o.k.?"

"It won't matter I'm going to stay an Uzumaki no matter what." Naruto said stubbornly.

Kushina sighed. "Well just on the _off _chance you change your mind over the next nine years this alliance could really help you. So for the time being I'm going to accept and you are going to at the very least be betrothed to this girl. As to what happens after that… we'll see."

Naruto kept a stubborn look on his face but nodded. His mom wasn't saying he would _have _to marry this girl or move to Konoha. So long as the final choice was his he figured things would be fine.

XXXXXXXXXX

The next morning as the other boys were busy with sword and taijutsu practice with Shinzou Naruto was being dragged off to the Tower with his mom.

"Why do you have to go talk to the Kazekage about this?" Naruto asked nervously as they entered the Tower of Wind.

His mom smiled at him mischievously. "**We **have to meet with the Kazekage to inform him of a possible marriage between one of his clan heirs and the clan heir of a renowned foreign clan. For some odd reason Kages like to be told about things like that ahead of time. Besides, we need to arrange permission for the betrothal party to come here."

"But why do I have to come along?' Naruto whined. Gaara had told him all sorts of stories about what a cold harsh man the Kazekage was. In truth he made him sound downright scary.

Kushina looked down at her son knowingly. "You're not _scared _are you Naru-kun?"

"No way! I'm a ninja! I'm an Uzumaki! No way I'm scared of anything!"

"Then there's no problem is there?" Kushina said innocently "After all since this is about you the Kazekage might want to ask you a few questions."

Naruto gulped at the thought but didn't do any more complaining.

At the reception area Kushina informed one of the secretaries of her request to speak with the Kazekage and was informed that he would meet with her shortly. Unlike her first visit here she actually believed she would be seen soon. She was no longer a foreign supplicant begging favors but a Suna clan head and member of the Council of Wind.

Kushina and her son sat down in the lobby to wait patiently. Unfortunately the peace and quiet was disturbed by an annoying boy's voice. "Hey, look who it is! The little blond cat."

Naruto looked up and frowned. "Hey, I didn't know the circus was in town." He reached into his purse and pulled out a hundred ryu coin. "Here, make me a balloon animal."

The ten year old boy sent Naruto a hard glare. The look got even hotter when the blonde girl standing behind him snorted a laugh. "What's that crack supposed to mean? You trying to call me a clown?" Kankuro demanded.

Naruto gave him a big annoying smile. "Well if the clown makeup fits…"

"It's war paint cat face!" Kankuro shot back.

Naruto looked at him for a moment. "Hmmm, sorry, did you say something?"

Kankuro bit down his teeth. "You know something; everything about you just pisses me off."

"Watch your language!" Kushina said sharply. "If I hear you talk that away around me or my son again I'll introduce you to an old Uzumaki clan tradition."

Kankuro gulped and quickly bowed to her. "I apologize Kushina-sama." He was not used to being talked to in that tone by anyone other than his father, his sister, or his sensei. And he didn't really respect the Uzumaki at all; they were just a bunch of jumped of foreigners who had been made _his _caretaker. But he knew his father would not be happy with him if Kushina complained.

"Please forgive my brother," the girl with four short pony tails said as she stepped forward. "He's an idiot."

"Hey!" Kankuro snapped.

"Well what do you expect?" Temari asked. "You're the one who goes around in public in make up playing with dolls and thinks it looks manly."

"They're not dolls!' he said defensively. " I practice the ancient and honored art of puppet mastery!"

"Whatever," Temari snorted. She took out a small ceremonial fan and opened it with a snap of her wrist. She put it over most of her face and turned to Naruto. "Hello Naruto," she said in a sweet girlish voice.

Both of Kushina's eyebrows suddenly jumped.

Naruto however was not particularly impressed. "Hey Temari, how's it going?"

"Not bad, Baki says I should be ready to become a Genin soon." The fan fluttered slowly in front of her face.

Behind them their sensei frowned and corrected her. "What I said was that if you continued to work hard I would allow you to be tested in six months."

The fan's flutters picked up a bit in irritation.

"You're so lucky!" Naruto said. "I've only started learning jutsus!"

"You're lying," Kankuro said. "You're still way too young to be able to do that!"

Naruto glared at the older boy. He looked back pleadingly at his mother. "Mom, can I?"

Kushina frowned. "It's not really proper within the Tower," she directed a sharp look at Kankuro. "But I **don't **like hearing anyone call you a liar. Go ahead Naruto, but don't show off too much."

Eagerly he began running through some hand signs. "**Kage Bushin no Justsu." **Smoke immediately filled the lobby. When it cleared away twenty clones of Naruto were surrounding Kankuro, all of them grinning at him.

Baki silently reached out and touched the nearest one, confirming it really was a kage bushin and not a regular illusionary one. _For a child of his age to perform any jutsu would be impressive, but to be able to perform an A-rank jutsu and create this many clones is truly amazing! _Baki would have been even more astounded to have known Naruto had been holding back. He could have made a hundred.

As everyone else in the lobby was staring there was the sound of a lone pair of hands applauding.

"We are most impressed." Everyone turned to see the Kazekage standing there in his formal white and blue robes with a veil over his face. This was extraordinarily rare; the Kazekage usually did not allow others to look at him while he was in the Tower. "Uzumaki Naruto, you seem to be an even more gifted ninja than your mother. We will expect great things from you in the future."

Naruto gulped. He, and all his clones, bowed. "Thank you Kazekage-sama."

The Kazekage shifted his gaze to his son and Kankuro paled noticeably. "We are curious if there is some reason that you are in the center of this Kankuro."

"No reason Kazekage-sama!" Kankuro answered immediately.

Naruto however ratted him out. "He called me a liar and said I couldn't do a jutsu."

"We see," the Kazekage said in a neutral tone. "Is this true Kankuro?"

The boy's first instinct was to lie. But he knew Baki would never let him get away with that. "Yes, it is." He answered as calmly as he could manage.

The Kazekage shook his head slightly. "We are deeply disappointed to hear that you would call the heir to the Ninth House a liar. Return home we will administer a proper punishment later."

Shaking slightly Kankuro bowed. He also sent Naruto a look of sheer poison before leaving.

A short time later Kushina and her son were kneeling in the Kazekage's office as she sat behind his cloth screen. Despite having already shown himself the Kazekage still preferred to maintain his customs. "Now then," the Kazekage said. "For what reason have you asked for this audience?"

"Kazekage-sama," Kushina said. "My son has been offered a betrothal to the Hyuuga clan of Konoha."

XXXXXXXXXX

**Five Days Later**

Hiashi was looking at the Marriage Contract that had been returned to him. Along with other documents from the Kazekage granting him and members of his clan permission to come to Suna for the purpose of a betrothal ceremony. The copy of the Marriage Contract had Kushina's signature as well as the seal of the Uzumaki clan.

_I honestly didn't believe she would accept the offer. _He thought she had permanently turned her back on Konoha. But if she meant to have Naruto marry his eldest she must still have an interest in the Namikaze fortune. Being on the Council he knew full well that the Namikaze estates were being held in trust and that the only possible heir was Naruto. If Naruto married Hinata he would be duty bound to do everything in his power to aid his son in law in recovering the Yondaime's legacy.

A part of him was pleased at the thought, knowing it was what Minato would have wanted. But another part of him blanched at the idea of publicly proclaiming a bastard be given the greatest fortune in Fire country along with a seat at the Council and access to some of the most powerful jutsus in the world. Anyone who could master the Hiraishin no jutsu would surely be recognized as among the greatest of ninja.

Did he want that? Did he really want to help an illegitimate boy, to say nothing of the Kyuubi's jinchuuriki, achieve all that?

_My personal opinion no longer matters, _he finally decided. _Kushina has accepted the offer, I am honor bound to carry it out no matter the consequences._

And to Hyuuga Hiashi's credit he would do just that. No matter the consequences.

XXXXXXXXXX

**Spoiler… Spoiler… Spoiler…**

The following involves the recent Naruto manga. Anyone who doesn't want to know about it should read no further.

**Author's Note: **This may only be my opinion but… Hinata is NOT dead. At the very least I refuse to believe it until I SEE A BODY. I accept that Kakashi is dead because both Tsunade and Naruto indicate it, AND there was a scene where he was speaking to his father and promising to tell him all about his life. That seems like a lot of evidence. Shizune by contrast only appears dead on a couple panels BUT Inoichi comments that she is dead and the other Leaf nins do not dispute it. Now so far we have NOT seen Hinata's body which was DELIBERATELY hidden from view. There is blood, but so what? That could just as easily be from a non lethal wound. And so far the only person who says Hinata is dead is Pein, hardly a credible source. Pein is currently trying to make a point to Naruto about peace and people understanding each other. Having just heard Hinata confess her love to Naruto and offer to die fighting for him would it be surprising if he hadn't killed Hinata and just said so because he was trying to make some point to Naruto? So until I see a body and hear Naruto or Tsunade or Sakura or some other known leaf nin say she is dead I don't believe it. As a matter of fact the entire set up leads me to believe she will be seriously hurt and somehow saved by Naruto.

Also if it turns out I'm wrong and she really did die immediately after FINALLY confessing her feelings then I think I'm done with the manga and the anime. Essentially the entire reason for Hinata's existence is to be an example of pure and honest devotion and to be Naruto's reward for all his years of struggle and keeping faith. The reason I love the Naru Hina pairing is because they both deserve to be with each other. She because of her faithfulness to the one she loves. He because he never gave up despite everything he was forced to endure, Naruto has EARNED having someone honestly and faithfully love him. To have his love taken away the moment after he learns how she feels is not only senseless but out right cruel. I honestly don't think the deaths of Kakashi or Shizune were needed. Unlike the deaths of Asuma and Jiraiya they seem pointless. Shizune's death in particular seemed utterly irrelevant. When a major character is killed it should be for a reason. As with the deaths of Minato, Haku, Sarutobi, Itachi, etc. while sad all at least have meaning. For Hinata to have loved him all this time, confessed, and then simply died would make everything she went through POINTLESS.

I put this up the other day when I posted my latest chapter of AML: LOK. From some of the responses people seem to think I will stop writing my Naruto stories if it turns out Hinata really is dead. I think there was a little misunderstanding. While it's true I will probably stop reading and watching Naruto that would be because in my opinion killing a character like Hinata in such a rushed and meaningless manner is a sign this show has, 'jumped the shark' and is past any hope of redemption. BUT even if that were the case I would still finish my current Naruto stories. (Though I doubt I would ever right another one.) However I still FIRMLY believe this will all end up being hypothetical and we will all get to revel in the long awaited Naru Hina goodness so many of us long for.


	12. The betrothal

"Mom?"

"Yes Naru-kun?"

"Do we have to get dressed up for this?"

Kushina grinned at her little man; she could see him wanting to fidget. "Yes, I am afraid we do. This is a formal ceremony, it wouldn't be proper to attend in our regular clothes."

"I don't like wearing this."

"Oh, but you look so handsome my little Naruto-kun!" He did, he looked like the cutest living doll.

Hearing that he frowned. "Ninja are supposed to look intimidating and scary," he insisted.

"There's nothing wrong in looking handsome even if you're a ninja," she smiled fondly as she remembered her wedding day. "You had best grow used to it Naru-kun, your father was a **very **handsome man. And you look just like him; you'll probably have to deal with girls chasing after you when you get a little older."

"I sure hope not," Naruto said fervently.

"Speaking of girls I noticed Temari was very friendly with you."

"Not really, that's the way she always is."

"Does she always use that fan when she talks to you?"

Naruto nodded. "She'd kind of weird."

"I suspect you might be to blame for that," she said a bit dryly.

"Huh?"

"Never mind," Kushina said with an amused twinkle in her eye. "You only need to worry about one girl today and it's not Temari."

"Mom, do I really _have _to do this?"

"Now Naru-kun," Kushina said patiently. "I've already explained that a betrothal is not a marriage ceremony. She will only be here for a few hours. We will hold the ceremony, have a small feast, and then they will all leave and return to Konoha. The Hyuuga aren't even going to spend the night in Suna. Just be polite and well behaved for a few hours. You can do that, right Naru-kun?"

"Sure mom," he said resigned.

"And no telling them about your training or that you can already work jutsus."

Naruto puffed out his cheeks. He _really _didn't like that. "But how come? You let me show clown boy what I could do."

"_Kankuro," _she said deliberately. "Is a Suna nin, or he will be some day. There's nothing wrong with letting the ninja of your village know your strength, it'll make things easier for you. Hiashi and the rest of the Hyuuga, including your potential bride, are of another village. Letting _them_ know your potential strength would make things harder for you."

"But I thought you wanted me to go to Konoha someday. Isn't that the whole reason for this?"

She nodded. "I do, and when you go there then you can show them just how powerful and amazing you are. But that day is years away yet. So until you become one of them _all _Konoha ninja are to be considered foreign ninja, which means they are potential enemies."

"Even the girl?"

"Even Hinata, so no sharing _any _of our secrets."

"Mom I don't even know most of our secrets."

"Good, fewer secrets you need to worry about. Now come on it's almost time for us to greet our guests and your potential wife and in laws."

XXXXXXXXXX

It had taken a full month and countless ninja couriers to work out the details of this ceremony. Hiashi had been adamant that he and his party would not stay in Suna. That in turn had offended the Kazekage who thought it a slap in the face. Eventually everything had been worked out.

The Uzumaki and their friends were gathered in the courtyard by the gate. Tables had already been set out and the food prepared. The ceremony and the feast would all take place outside. Hiashi had already agreed to this. The ceremony, the feast, everything would be done within three hours and then the Hyuuga would be on their way back to Konoha.

At the appointed hour the Hyuuga party arrived. They began to approach the open gate in a slow stately pace, all of them dressed in their finest silk kimonos. Among the dozen Hyuuga men a single small girl walked with great care.

Before the gate the party came to a halt. Hiashi nodded to his daughter, she came forward and fell into step beside her father.

Kushina placed a hand on her son's shoulder and nodded. Together the two of them walked over to the gate.

"Hiashi, head of the Hyuuga clan, and honored guest, I welcome you into my home. You and all who come with you may drink the water from my well and eat the bread from my table. I offer you welcome and give you the protection of my clan." Kushina spoke with a smooth bow.

"Kushina, head of the Uzumaki clan. I thank you for your welcome and the generosity you offer to me and mine. As your honored guests we humbly accept and shall behave as proper guests." Hiashi said in a proper tone and returned an equally proper bow. He then looked at his daughter.

She was dressed in a silk kimono of sky blue and traces of lavender. Her hair was done up in a painstaking and formal style and her face was covered in white powder. She looked like a perfect noble lady in miniature. She gave a slow and most graceful bow. "I am most honored to meet my future husband. I pray this day begins a long and joyous union between us and between our two families." Her words were the perfect tone and inflection, without even the hint of a stutter.

Naruto looked at the lovely girl. Her picture didn't do her justice; she was really cute, even if she did still seem just a little scared. Naruto had his own lines he was supposed to speak and then bow to her and escort her into the courtyard. But somehow looking at the pretty dark haired girl in front of him he couldn't remember what he was supposed to say. So he improvised.

"Wow, you're really pretty."

Hearing that Hinata couldn't help herself. She let out an embarrassed gasp and began pressing her index fingers together.

"Sorry, I wasn't supposed to say that," Naruto apologized as he bowed. "But you are."

"Th… thank you," she managed. She'd been rigorously prepared on what the ceremony would be like. She didn't know how to improvise. But she was glad for the makeup she had on as she knew she was red as a tomato underneath.

Hiashi was far better at disguising his displeasure at this impromptu change, but he still frowned and was clearly displeased.

Kushina however just gave a little laugh and reached down top affectionately rub the top of her son's head. "Well, not what we were expecting but hardly the worst sentiments for someone looking at his future bride." She nodded to Hiashi. "Please forgive my son; he is only seven after all."

_And obviously has not learned the proper discipline yet. I doubt he will be much of a ninja._"Of course, it is understandable."

"Shall we continue with the ceremony then?" Kushina said pleasantly. At Hiashi's curt nod she looked to her son. "Aren't you going to escort her Naruto? While she is here it is your responsibility to protect her."

Naruto nodded seriously. "Right mom!" he turned to Hinata and carefully offered his arm just as he'd been shown to. "Can I escort you Hinata-chan?" He flashed her a big happy smile.

"I… I would be honored," she demurely put one arm around his and moved to his side. _Hinata-chan? Mother was the only one to call me that. It's not really proper, but it sounds nice. _She looked at him and was again glad for the makeup. _I like his smile._

XXXXXXXXXX

The betrothal ceremony took only fifteen minutes. It was little more than an exchange of pledges and a promise to marry one day. It was not binding on either party, but would remain in effect until or unless one side or the other cancelled it.

With the ceremony over it was time for introductions and then the feast. After so many years everyone knew the Whirlpool had been destroyed and that only a handful of Kushina's clan had survived. The few remaining Uzumaki had made quite a reputation for themselves as top notch assassins. They along with Kakashi were bringing in a lot of business. So though he'd never met either Saishu or Shinzou before he was well familiar with their reputations. By comparison he was taken completely off guard when he was introduced to a solemn red haired boy and told he was Kushina other adopted son.

Gaara had been carefully instructed not to mention his previous family or anything about his abilities. These were hidden as he deliberately kept his sand spread out through the courtyard and unmoving.

Prior to sitting down to eat Hiashi asked to speak to Kakashi and Tsunade alone. Kushina did not object and so they did so.

"These are for you," Hiashi produced a pair of letters and handed one to each. "These are from Sarutobi. He and the Council feel you have been away for far too long."

"I'll read it later," Kakashi promised and made his disappear.

Tsunade was frowning as she held her letter in her hands. "I only have one question, is the old man ready to give Naruto what is his?"

Hiashi looked at her and grimaced. "He and the Council are prepared to grant Naruto and his mother some lands within the village and a very hefty stipend if they were to return and accept Konoha citizenship."

"How generous of the old man," she said as she tore the letter to shreds.

Hiashi looked displeased. "I understand, and I am willing to assist with the situation once Naruto comes of age and marries my daughter."

"Once you have a vested interest in Naruto getting what's his you mean," she said sharply. "Is that all this is about? I thought you and Minato were close!"

"I remember sensei used to call you a dear friend," Kakashi added helpfully.

"Minato was a dear friend," Hiashi replied stiffly. "But matters are complicated."

"Tell me something Hiashi," Tsunade asked. "Would things be less _complicated _if I told you that Kushina and Minato were married in a secret ceremony? One Jiraiya and I both bore witness too?"

"Jiraiya has never made that claim, and neither have you."

"I held back because Kushina asked me to, why the pervert did I have no idea. But if we both came forward now would that make a difference?"

"No," Hiashi said flatly. "Opinions on Naruto have hardened over the years. It would take much more than just your words to change minds."

"That's about what I thought," Tsunade announced. "Well until Naruto gets justice I won't be coming back. The old man should just be grateful I don't renounce my status as a leaf nin."

"Same here," Kakashi added.

XXXXXXXXXX

After eating Naruto had offered to give Hinata a tour of the Uzumaki compound. She had again been taken off guard; this wasn't part of the script. She'd asked her father and he had told her she could do as she liked. She had decided to accept Naruto's offer. As soon as she'd said yes he'd taken her by the hand and excitedly led her along. Having him hold her hand she felt herself blushing again beneath the face powder. _I certainly seem to blush a lot when I am around him. Is that a good thing?_

Naruto took her through their house pointing out things. He was soon frustrated though by the strict limits he'd had placed on him. He couldn't tell her (or show her) any of his jutsus. He couldn't even put on a little demonstration of swordsmanship. He couldn't tell her about Gaara and all the amazing things his brother could do with sand. So instead he'd spent most of his time telling her about his clan and about the amazing exploits of Kakashi-niisan, godmother, his mom, and the rest of his awesome family.

For Hinata it was an unusual, but pleasant experience. She liked Naruto's boundless energy and his obvious passion and love for his family and friends. She also liked the fact that he didn't care about proper behavior around her. He smiled and he laughed and he joked and never once made her feel inadequate or weak. She also enjoyed having his attention focused solely on her. Being with him felt… freeing.

XXXXXXXXXX

From a discreet distance Hiashi kept a discreet eye on his daughter and her brand new fiancé. He did not really approve of the way the boy jumped about waving his arms excitedly as he spoke. He was also a bit unhappy to see the way Hinata was reacting. She was… smiling and laughing. That was not proper behavior for one of the Hyuuga main branch. Somehow he forgot all the times that he and Hannah had smiled and laughed together.

"Aren't they cute?" Kushina asked as she approached Hiashi.

"You're son is very energetic and a bit wild."

Kushina grinned. "Was his father like that as a boy?"

Hiashi suddenly recalled an irrepressible, and very loud, eight year old Minato dominating the academy class like a force of nature. Despite himself Hiashi grinned at the memory. "Yes actually."

Kushina looked at him consideringly. "Tell me something Hiashi, would you have done this if your wife hadn't died?"

"No," he replied without reservation.

"I see," Kushina said. She hadn't expected any other answer. "Would you have done it if Minato-kun and I had, had a marriage ceremony?"

"You and Tsunade both asked about that. What does it matter? The fact is if you were never anything more than his mistress. I know that he loved you Kushina, I have never questioned that. But the fact is you were never married to him."

"But if I _had _been?" She persisted. "Would you have done this then?"

"If you were the Namikaze clan head and Naruto were recognized as heir, yes."

"Well… nice to know one little ceremony and a few stamped pieces of paper make all the difference."

"Whether you like it or not Kushina the difference between wife and mistress and between legitimate and illegitimate _does_ matter."

"Oh I know," she assured him. "Believe me I know."

"It's time for us to go," Hiashi said.

"Have a safe trip home Hiashi," She turned away. "See you in about nine years or so."

XXXXXXXXXX

Hinata spotted her father approaching and knew what that meant. "I'm afraid it's time for me to go Naruto."

"Already?" He sounded disappointed. "I'm sorry to see you go, I really liked hanging out with you Hinata-chan."

"I… I… really liked it too." She was pressing her fingers together. She didn't have much time. "Naruto, would… would you write to me?"

"Write to you?"

She nodded swiftly. "I… I'd like to know what's happening in your life, and… and if you don… don't mind I'd like to tell you about my life too."

He smiled at her. "All right Hinata-chan."

"And, if it's o.k. can… can I call you… Naruto-kun?"

"Sure, Hinata-chan, I'd like that."

XXXXXXXXXX

Once the Hyuuga were gone Kushina looked at her son. "Well, what did you think of her?"

"She's kind of shy and quiet, but I like her."

XXXXXXXXXX

Once they were outside the village of Suna and well on their way back Hiashi turned to his daughter. "What did you think of him Hinata?"

"I believe he will be a fitting husband," she answered exactly as she was supposed to. Hiashi nodded, satisfied with her dutiful reply.

In her mind she spoke her real answer. _I like him, especially his smile._


	13. Loyalty

**One Year Later**

An old man in peasant's garb ducked into a darkened alley way somewhere in Konoha. It was two in the morning and the village was silent. There were no street lights nearby; the only faint light came from the stars above. The old man hoped he had not been seen by anyone except the person he'd come to meet.

As if summoned by the thought a whisper came from the shadows. "Hokage-sama."

Sarutobi froze. He was considered one of the finest ninja to have come from this village. Yet even with _his _skills he could not detect the man who had just spoken. _Your stealth is as impressive as ever Itachi. _"Please report."

A shadow seemed to detach from the wall and a man was standing before him. Itachi was in his ANBU uniform, his mask still in place. He was currently supposed to be on patrol within the village, giving him the perfect excuse for a clandestine meeting. "There will be a meeting of all Uchiha ninja tomorrow. I believe that is when the final decision will be made."

Sarutobi nodded grimly. When Itachi had first come to him with the suggestion his clan might be plotting a coup he'd been shocked. The Uchiha, along with the Hyuuga, were among the most powerful and respected of clans in Konoha. They already wielded great power and influence within the village. He hadn't wanted to believe that, that was not enough. He'd ordered Itachi to begin a secret investigation and report his findings only to him. As of right now they were the only two who knew. He'd feared the ramifications if even a hint of this came to light.

"If the clan makes the decision to revolt, you know what must be done."

Itachi hesitated. "Lord Hokage, what you ask… difficult does not begin to describe it."

"I understand that Itachi," Sarutobi spoke with great sympathy. "But if the clan is set on a coup then a pre emptive strike is the only option. I cannot force you to carry out this mission. However should you decline I shall have no choice but to call out all the clans and ask them to suppress Uchiha. Given the hidden support the clan enjoys throughout Konoha this might well lead to a civil war. Compared to that what I ask of you seems the better choice."

"You ask me to betray and annihilate my clan."

"I am sorry Itachi, but if the clan revolts there can be no other punishment. The Uchiha have too many allies to be spared even in part. It is cruel I agree, but in the ninja world we cannot always afford mercy."

"Hokage-sama, I am loyal to you and to the village," Itachi spoke softly and with pain wringing his voice. "Yet I also have loyalty to my clan, to my family. I never saw any contradiction. Yet now to be loyal to one I must betray the other. Tell me Hokage-sama, where should a man's final loyalty lie?"

Sarutobi shook his head. "That you will have to decide for yourself Itachi. Whether your final loyalty is to your homeland or to your family. But I have faith in you that you will do the right thing Itachi."

Itachi slowly nodded. "Shall we meet again tomorrow night at this same place and time?"

With Sarutobi's nod Itachi vanished. Sarutobi left the alley and walked away, deliberately not using any chakra or jutsus. He dared not risk _anyone _learning the truth.

XXXXXXXXXX

Hinata was sitting in her room following class when there was a puff of smoke. When the smoke cleared there was a slug the size of a small dog in her room. Around the slug's, 'neck' was a leather case. "Greetings Lady Hinata."

Hinata flashed a happy grin. Her life seemed to be one endless series of trials. Her father had stopped giving her training and declared Hanabi had more potential than she did. Ever since mother's death father had grown more and more strict and unforgiving. The academy wasn't much better. Despite being very intelligent she was no more than an average student. She did well on tests but her physical prowess kept her in the middle of the pack. She just didn't like competing against the other students. She had no real friends. She was almost painfully quiet and shy and just didn't have the nerve to approach people. The other students either didn't notice her or just assumed her shyness a sign that she was a, 'stuck up Hyuuga princess.'

About the only thing in her life that made her really happy was hearing from Naruto. He wrote her regularly and often included photos in his letters. His godmother, the famous Lady Tsunade, even allowed him to use her summons to instantly deliver the messages and her responses.

"Hello Katsuyu," Hinata said and took the case off. Inside she found a letter and a photo. She took a look at picture. It was of Naruto holding a sword over his shoulder while grinning and making a, 'V' with his free hand. The picture made her giggle. Naruto was so cute and silly! One more picture for her photo album. _Oh how I wish he were here! School would be so much more fun if we could attend together. _"How is everyone doing?"

"Everyone is well Lady."

Hinata took a sealed envelope with a sticker of a kitty on it and put it in the case. She also put in a small wrapped package. "I baked some cookies for Naruto-kun; please tell him I hope he likes them." She put the case back around the slug.

"I will Lady," the slug promised. "I will see you next week."

She nodded. "Next week."

The slug vanished in a puff of smoke. Hinata eagerly opened the letter and began reading it.

_Dear Hinata-chan,_

_Are you still having trouble making friends at school? You need to be less shy and say, 'hi' to people. If they knew how nice you were you'd have lots of friends in no time!_

She blushed a little at his kind words. Why was he the only one to ever give her encouragement?

_Anyway I'm really busy learning taijutsu and how to wield a sword. I really love working the sword. There are five dances of the sword; sakura, camellia, rose, lily, and sunflower. Each time you master one of the dances well enough to face a master swordsman with just that style you gain a level of mastery. When you can work all five you get the title of Fifth Level Sword Master. My mom, uncle, and grand uncle are all fifth level and they are so amazing! My mom and my uncle will practice sometimes with their katanas and their swords move so fast all you see is a blur of silver. Kakashi-niisan even says he would never want to fight either of them if they were serious, and he has the sharingan! My mom says that if I work really, really hard that someday I'll be as good as she is! I'm definitely going to be a fifth level master too. Though I bet if I had a katana I'd be able to learn a lot faster. My mom is kind of stingy though, she won't get me one no matter how many times I ask._

_I hope things are good with you Hinata-chan. Oh and send me some more of your special cookies they're really good!_

_Naruto_

Reading the last part made her extremely happy. She knew she really wasn't very good at cooking. Whenever she made anything for her father he would always eat it without comment. But even if Naruto was just being nice it made her very happy.

XXXXXXXXXX

Kushina was in her room relaxing when she heard a desperate cry.

"Moooooom! Help me!" The door to her bedroom burst open and Naruto raced in clutching a package to his chest. Before she could say anything he ducked behind her. "Help me mom they're after me!"

In through the open door came Gaara, Michio, Minori, and finally little Miwa. Michio glared at his older cousin and stuck a hand out. "You need to share!"

"No way!" Naruto shrieked and clutched the package even tighter. "These are mine! Hinata-chan made them just for me!"

Gaara looked at his brother and seemed more amused than anyone else. Whenever it was just family Gaara always seemed to be more relaxed and in a better mood. "Isn't it a clan rule that all prizes and treasures are shared?"

"That's only for combat! That doesn't include gifts!" Naruto replied.

"Don't be so stingy!" Michio said. "Just give us each one cookie!"

"Cookie!" Miwa cried happily.

"But Hinata's cookies are the best!" Naruto declared.

"Well why do you think we want them?" Michio said.

Kushina sighed. "Naruto, give everyone a cookie, just because Hinata made them for you doesn't mean you can't share."

"Yes mom," defeated he opened the box and let everyone have one.

"Thanks aunt Kushina!" Michio said as he began to munch on his prize.

"Yummy!" The little red haired Miwa said happily.

Naruto turned to his other and held out the box to her. "Do you want one mom?"

Smiling she took one and planted a kiss on her son's forehead. "You are such a good boy."

XXXXXXXXXX

Today was Kushina's turn to do the teaching. During the morning she taught the boys about match, history, codes, chemistry, and social sciences. Aoi gave little Miwa some instruction in easier subjects. Then following lunch it was time for physical training. Since they would be focusing on taijutsu and weapons training there was no need to go to the wastes. They worked in the courtyard. Miwa was three and was just learning the basics.

In the courtyard Gaara and Michio were sparring. Gaara was always a weird opponent because whenever a punch or kick threatened to land it would be blocked by sand. This tended to make spars a little uneven. Even so the adults all insisted that Gaara had to be given the same instruction as every other member of the clan. Kushina was working with Minori on his blocks and counters.

While Naruto…

"Mom," he complained.

She shut her eyes. "Yes dear?" She said wearily, knowing what was coming.

"Why do I have to teach Miwa instead of working on my own?"

"Because you know more than she does, and you're qualified to show her the basics." His mother answered.

"But I need to work on getting better," he said with a pout. "This is a waste of time."

She turned to her son with a severe frown. "Naruto, you will still have time to work on your own skills, but right now what is best for the _clan _is if you help your little cousin. When I was little your uncle and your grandfather taught me. Your uncle used to complain about teaching me instead of practicing on his own. But my father would always say he good of the clan came first. That is how a clan, and a family work, we put the needs of the family first. We are taught by those who know more and we teach those who know less."

Naruto slowly nodded. "Yes mom." He thought of something. "Hey mom, why isn't there a ninja academy here like the one Hinata goes to?"

"That's just not the way they do things here," Kushina said. "Actually most ninja villages have an academy to teach the basics. But here it's tradition that each family takes responsibility for instruction."

Naruto frowned. "But what if there are no ninja in the family to teach them or all the ninja have been killed?"

"Well in that case the family has to hire an instructor or hope there's a family friend willing to teach."

"What if they're poor and don't have a friend? What about the orphans? Who teaches them?"

"No one," Kushina said.

"That doesn't seem fair." Naruto said.

Kushina stopped and thought about it. _How many children with the potential to be ninja will never get the chance to? _"You know what Naru-kun? You're right, it's not fair." _And maybe there's something I can do about it._

XXXXXXXXXX

The following night an old man slipped into an alley in Konoha. It was two in the morning. The thoughts of what might have to happen weighed heavily on Sarutobi. He had always thought of himself as a good man. And yet if he looked at his career objectively how many evil things had he done? He had seen the wickedness in Orochimaru; it had always been there even when he was still a boy. He had deliberately turned a blind eye to it, he'd been a genius in a time of war and the village needed his skills. So for the good of the village he'd helped Orochimaru gain power. He had deliberately kept Kushina and Naruto from inheriting what was theirs. He'd done it to protect them and to guard that fragile peace that had remained following the Kyuubi's attack. So for the good of the village he'd hidden the truth and turned them into outcasts. How many innocent people had died at his command? How many illegal missions had he ordered? And always it had been done for the good of the village. It was impossible to walk in the ninja world with clean hands. _And now, I intend to have an entire clan exterminated for the good of the village. Do I have any right to still think myself a good man?_

"Hokage-sama," a voice whispered from the shadows.

"Please report," Sarutobi said quietly.

"It was as I expected," Itachi's soft voice said. "My father intends to carry out a coup with the support of the entire clan and with our allies."

Sarutobi nodded his head sadly. "Then I have no choice but to order the destruction of the Uchiha. Will you carry out my order to destroy the clan?"

There was a long silence in the dark alley.

"No."

Without warning Sarutobi felt the pain and saw the sword's blade exiting through his chest.

"Forgive me Hokage-sama," Itachi's voice whispered in his ear. "But my greatest loyalty is to my clan."

_I am betrayed. _Sarutobi tried to form a shun shin or cry out but his strength was gone. The blackness swallowed him and he fell to the dirty ground dead.

The moment Sarutobi's lifeless body struck the ground three more figures leapt down into the alley way. One of them spoke to the other two. "Take the Hokage's body out of the village and dispose of it. No one must ever find it." The other two nodded and grabbed the body before vanishing.

The man then turned to Itachi who was still holding his bloodied sword. "I am proud of you my son," Fugaku said.

"Don't be," Itachi said quietly and wiped his sword clean. "I didn't do this for you. I did this for mother and Sasuke and the Uchiha who are _not _guilty of treason."

Fugaku smiled. "That's fine, you did it for the clan, I too am doing this for the sake of our clan."

"Are you sure father?" Itachi asked coldly. "Because it looks to me that you are doing it for your own selfish reasons."

Fugaku's smile vanished and he leaned close to his eldest son. "Then tell me son, why did you murder Shisui?"

Itachi looked back at him with cold bloodless eyes. "I have to return to my patrol." With a hand sign he was gone.

XXXXXXXXXX

The next day there was an uproar as the Hokage seemed to have vanished without a trace. Despite all efforts no one could learn what had occurred. With the Hokage's unexplained disappearance and emergency session of the Council was called. As the oldest member and the one with greatest seniority it fell to Koharu to run the meeting and set the agenda.

"This is a crisis of unprecedented magnitude," she said severely. "Something similar occurred to the Third Kazekage and Suna fell into chaos. We must move swiftly to maintain order or else the people may being to despair."

"Aren't you over stating things a little?" Nara Shikaku asked. "Maybe the Hokage just decided to slip away for a little rest. He might be back tomorrow."

"Or he might not," said Danzo with a grimace. "For the good of the village we must act to maintain order."

"What do you have in mind?" Inoichi asked.

"Since the Hokage has disappeared without a named successor we must appoint a regent. Someone who will rule with the Hokage's authority until he returns." Koharu announced.

"Whoa! Hold on a second isn't that a bit much?" Shikaku called out. "He's only been gone one day!"

"This is an emergency measure," Koharu said stiffly. "It is meant to maintain order in a time of crisis."

"It is only until the Hokage returns," Homura reassured.

Koharu nodded her head. "Should the Hokage not return in six months time the appointment will become permanent. Until that time the Third will of course have the power to countermand any decision made by the regent."

"This seems a logical response given the situation," Aburame Shibi said in a measured tone.

The other Council members looked at each other in discomfort.

"And who is to be appointed regent?" Hyuuga Hiashi asked.

"A man with great experience who has the trust of the entire village ninja and civilian." Koharu announced. "I formally nominate Uchiha Fugaku."

"I second the nomination," Homura said immediately.

"Fugaku," Koharu looked at him intently. "In this grave hour the village turns to you for leadership. Will you deny Konoha your wisdom?"

"I would never deny my village anything she asked of me. If the village needs me I will serve Konoha in any way required."

Koharu nodded. "Then let us vote."

"Aren't you being a bit hasty?" Hiashi demanded. "You are discussing not only a regency but potentially who will be the next Hokage. We should take time…"

"There is no time Hiashi," Danzo snapped. "What will happen when our enemies learn we are without a Hokage? Rudderless and without direction? We dare not appear vulnerable! We must act decisively! I for one vote yes."

"I also say yes," Koharu said.

"I say yes," Homura spoke.

Hiashi was unable to affect the vote or delay it. By a vote of nine to three Uchiha Fugaku became Regent of Konoha, with the emergency powers of Hokage.

With a minimum of bloodshed the Uchiha had achieved their coup.

XXXXXXXXXX

**Author's Note: **People often tell me I have surprising twists.

A Mother's love: Life of Kushina and The True Monster are up for some fan fiction awards. So please go to www. teamdarkhope. synthasite. com to vote. I am an egomaniac and only feel love through the positive reinforcement of strangers. Please help feed my neurosis!


	14. The prodigal godfather returns

There were twenty six children standing in the Uzumaki compound. Their ages ran from seven to fourteen. They were all orphans or else from very poor backgrounds. And they all had the ability to use chakra. None of them had ever been permitted to step foot onto the grounds of one of the Noble Houses of Suna. Even though they had been granted permission and allowed to enter they still looked very nervous. Perhaps they were afraid this was all some sort of mistake and someone would suddenly show up and start yelling at them for being here.

As they all watched a woman with long red hair came out of the large house with five children in tow behind her. All of them were dressed in black and red body suits and they all (except for the young girl) had swords on their backs. Their attention was torn between the woman and the oldest boy; he had sand following him as he moved. They all knew who Gaara was and their instinct was to run, but if they did that they would not be welcomes here again.

The woman came to a stop in front of them and gave them all a reassuring smile. "Welcome to the Uzumaki Ninja academy." She called out. "Now as you all know, you all have the potential to be ninja and to use jutsus. I think it would be a real shame to have all of you be denied that opportunity just because of your circumstances. That being the case I, and my clan, have decided to offer free instruction to any students who have the necessary potential and are willing to work hard to become ninja. Now, there are only two rules but they are iron clad and must be honored at all times. First rule; you are all here of your own free will and can go anytime you like. But if you leave you cannot return. Ninja training is hard and the life of a ninja is harder still. If they instruction is not to your liking it's best for you to find another path. My time is too precious to waste on anyone without the necessary will."

The nineteen boys and seven girls all nodded silently. They all knew becoming a ninja was difficult, but no other profession was as honored or desired. They all understood this was their one and only chance to become shinobi and were ready to do whatever was required.

"Second rule," she said in the same open friendly manner. "You will refer to me and the others who will teach you as, 'sensei.' You will also treat _everyone _who lives here with respect, no exceptions. While you are here I expect to behave like proper guests. Is that clear?"

All eyes went to where Gaara was. Slowly, everyone nodded.

"Good, then let's get started," she worked some hand signs. "**Kage Bushin no Jutsu." **With a couple puffs of smoke to bushins appeared.

"Everyone ten or younger come with me." One of the bushins walked off to the left.

"Everyone eleven or older come with me." The other bushin said and walked to the right.

The original turned back to the Uzumaki children. "O.k. kids I'll take care of your instruction today, but so you know each of you will be helping teach these children. You'll all be instructors."

"Even me?" Gaara asked with a blink.

"Even you," Kushina said firmly. _Maybe some of the children will eventually figure out you're not a monster._

"Aunt Kushina?"

"Yes Michio?"

"Why are we going through all this trouble to help a bunch of strangers?"

"Because they are all part of the village, and it is a ninja's duty to help the village whenever possible. If even just half these children eventually become ninja then that will be a huge boost to the village's fighting strength."

XXXXXXXXXX

The Kazekage was looking at the report and shaking his head. Kushina and her clan had actually opened a ninja academy and were offering free instruction. He did not know what to make of that. Kushina had brought up the notion of opening a ninja academy at the last meeting of the Council of Wind and been quickly shot down. Suna was a conservative place where traditions were fiercely defended. The village had always relied on family instruction and that had always been good enough.

He had expected Kushina to simply accept her defeat. Instead she had gone ahead and acted on her own. So long as her clan provided the instruction and did not ask for financial support from the village he would not interfere. Suna was shorthanded so if this somehow provided a few additional ninja he would not complain. But the lack of respect for the tradition of Suna was a bit jarring.

The truth was the Kazekage was not sure what to make of the Uzumaki. The truth was when he'd accepted them on condition they take responsibility for Gaara he'd thought Kushina had made a fool's bargain. He'd seen Gaara slowly becoming more and more unstable as his powers continued to grow stronger. He'd been sure the little monster was headed for some kind of breaking point. He'd figured it would be safest to have him finally crack while under the care of some foreigners. Then he could safely move in with the whole village supporting him to clean up the mess.

But something very odd had happened over the last two years. Gaara had not gone insane. He had not gone on a mindless killing spree. Instead he had seemed to grow… normal. He was not often seen outside the Uzumaki estate, but when he was he seemed well behaved. There had been no reports of any sort of violence from him over the past two years, that alone seemed a miracle. He was actually starting to think that perhaps the experiment _wasn't _a failure after all. But then that left him with the problem of what to do with the Uzumaki, Ninth Great House of Suna.

Financially their arrival had been a windfall for the village. A steady flow of high paying assassination contracts had started coming in for the Uzumakis and Kakashi. Many wealthy patients came to Suna simply to be diagnosed and treated by the famed Tsunade. (Which absolutely annoyed Chiyo no end.) The Uzumaki were not only taking care of Gaara for him they were also bringing in much needed wealth to his village. There was also the fact that Naruto looked to be a _very_ promising young ninja. All of which meant that though he found the Uzumakis and their odd ideas somewhat troubling he was willing to tolerate them.

As he was thinking a servant entered his office. "Pardon me Kazekage-sama."

"Yes? What is it?"

"One of the Sannin has come and asks permission to enter the village."

"One of the Sannin? And why has he come to see us?"

"He asks permission to visit one of the clans.

XXXXXXXXXX

Kushina watched as the children walked slowly out of the gate. She'd been surprised to see just how determined they were to really learn how to become ninja. She'd been half expecting most of them to quit their very first day. But they all made it through at least one day of instruction. _We'll see how many of them make it through the first day of calisthenics. _

"Recruiting new members for your clan Kushina?"

She looked up and gasped at the familiar sounding voice. "You!"

Jiraiya smiled at her. "It's been a long time Kushina."

"Yes it has," she said dryly.

He was just standing there in front of her before the gate. He was giving her his old slightly perverted smile. She was returning a guarded look.

"So… are you going to invite me in?"

"I'm thinking about it," Kushina answered.

"Heh," he rubbed the back of his head uncomfortably. "There are some important things I need to talk to you about. Things that are going to affect you and Naruto."

"Like what?"

"I'd rather discuss this in private."

"You could have visited me and your _godson _anytime in the last eight years. If there's something important tell me now or go on about your way, _godfather._"

He flinched slightly at her tone. "You're angry at me."

"Whatever gave you that idea?"

He sighed. _Some women just have to make things hard for a man. _"Sarutobi is no longer the Hokage, he's been replaced by Uchiha Fugaku."

"What? When did this happen?"

"Just a few days ago, now can I come in? There's more."

"Fine," she said. "I'll introduce you to your godson; you do remember you have one right?"

He flinched again. "I remember, but things have been…"

She stopped and turned towards him dangerously. He could feel killer intent leaking out of her. "I swear to kami if you say things have been, 'complicated' I'll take out my katana and skin you!"

He grimaced. _Was she always this scary? It's like a red haired version of Tsunade!_

Nodding towards the house he tried to change the subject. "You have quite a nice place here, though it doesn't compare to your last home." In fairness few buildings could compare to the Namikaze mansion.

She tossed him a flat look. "Actually my last home was a house in River country so this place is much nicer than that." They began walking again.

It seemed he couldn't say anything to appease her. "I know you were living in River country for five years. I did keep track of you and Naruto."

She halted and turned to face him again. "Then why didn't you come see us before now?" She demanded. "Right now you have important news, fine; I appreciate you giving me some intelligence. But damn it Jiraiya you were his godfather! Where the hell have you been all this time?!"

"I got to Konoha as fast as I could as soon as I heard about the Kyuubi. I went to see you and your son."

Kushina nodded. "I know, Tsunade told me about that. She also told me you left the very next morning. You came for Minato's funeral and were gone almost as soon as it was over."

"I'm sorry," the old ninja said miserably. "But Minato was like a son to me. Losing him so young, and knowing I wasn't even there to help… It was more than I could bear. I needed time to sort things out."

"Are you going to try and tell me you needed _eight years _to sort out your feelings?"

"No, but by the time I had my head back on straight you were living in River with your family and Tsunade and Kakashi. You seemed to be doing fine so I thought it would be best if I just left you alone."

She stared at him, clearly not impressed. "In other words you didn't want to deal with your responsibilities as a godfather." Though half a foot shorter she leaned forward and forced Jiraiya to back up. "Well listen to me Jiraiya! When Minato and I offered you the position no one had a kunai to your throat forcing you to accept! As I recall you were the one who brought it up when we mentioned we wanted to name him after one of the characters in your book. You accepted the position of godfather so from now on you will live up to your responsibilities, or else I don't ever want to see you again. Is that clear?"

Jiraiya nodded his head obediently. "Yes," he said humbly.

"I don't expect you to drop everything just to spend time with him," she said, slightly appeased. "But I expect you to come visit once in awhile, and you can teach him a few things while you're here. His father was a seal master, there's no reason why Naruto shouldn't be one too."

"I'd be happy to show him some things," Jiraiya said.

"And I want you to let him sign the Toad summoning contract. Just so you know both Kakashi and Tsunade offered to let him sign their contracts. But Minato summoned toads; I want Naruto to have the same summons."

"Actually I was hoping you'd let me do that while I was here, Bunta wants Minato's kid to sign as much as I do."

"And while you're here I want you to do me a favor… for my other son."

"You mean Gaara?" Kushina looked at him questioningly. "I've been keeping tabs on you, and since Hiashi's visit it's not a secret."

"I see," she said carefully. Since he did not mention Shukaku she didn't either. Though she would have to for the favor she had in mind.

"Whatever I can do to help your adopted son I will," Jiraiya promised.

"I'm going to hold you to that," she said. They headed for the house, Kushina in a noticeably better state of mind. "I guess I'll let you live."

"Gee thanks."


	15. Secrets

The boys had once again gathered outside Kushina's bedroom door.

"Another secret meeting?" Michio asked.

"Yes," Gaara answered. "And this time there is a guest, some old man."

"Really? I wonder who he is?" Michio said.

"Whoever he is he gave me a really weird look. It was kind of intense," Naruto mentioned.

Michio turned to his cousin and made an adorable face. "Well you are cuuuute _Naru-kun_."

"Shut up," Naruto growled.

XXXXXXXXXX

All the adults had gathered to speak in private.

"So you're the famous Jiraiya," Shinzou said looking the man over carefully. Of those present he and Saishu had never met the Sannin before. "Are you really as big a pervert as they say?"

Jiraiya puffed out his chest and looked deeply offended. "I am no pervert! I am the legendary Toad sage Jiraiya! I am a Super Pervert!"

"That's not something to be proud of you idiot!" Tsunade yelled furiously.

"That all depends on what you value," Jiraiya replied smugly.

"So did you really once try to peep on my sister while she was taking a bath?" Shinzou asked.

"We are not here to reminisce," Kushina cut in quickly. "Jiraiya finally came to pay us a visit because he has some important news."

Jiraiya nodded his head and now appeared very serious. "Less than a week ago my former sensei the Third Hokage disappeared without a trace."

"What?" Tsunade gasped. "The old man?"

Jiraiya looked at Tsunade and he again nodded. "There was a thorough investigation and I looked myself, but there was nothing. If the old man were more like me I might have some hope that he would show up at some point, probably hung over and with an empty purse. But Sarutobi-sensei always took his responsibilities very seriously. His disappearing like this can only mean one of two things; he was killed or he was captured. Either way I don't expect to ever see him again."

Tsunade closed her eyes. "I disagreed with a lot of the things he did and I blamed him for a lot of things," she spoke sadly. "But I never wanted anything like this."

"I won't forgive him for what he did to my son," Kushina said. "But while my husband was still alive he was a good friend to us both."

"Well by the time I heard and got back to the village the Council had already installed Uchiha Fugaku as the new Hokage. They're not calling him that yet, officially his title is regent. But that's just temporary. Barring a miracle Fugaku will be the Fifth, he already has the Hokage's powers even without the title. And that's part of the reason why I'm here, he asked me to come to Suna and deliver some letters."

As soon as he said that Jiraiya felt killer intent directed at him. "You came here on a mission?" Kushina said angrily. "You damn fraud! I thought you actually came here because you wanted to help!" She put her hand on her katana.

"Whoa! Hold on there Kushina," Jiraiya held his hands out. "The mission was just a cover. Fugaku doesn't want me sharing any information with you or helping Naruto in any way. If he knew I was giving you intel or letting Naruto sign the Toad contract or offering to teach him he'd be very unhappy."

Kushina considered that. She let her hand fall away from her sword and her killer intent lessened. It did not completely vanish though. "Just whose side are you on Jiraiya?"

"No matter who sits on the throne I'm a Leaf nin. But that doesn't mean I won't bend the rules on occasion if it means helping the people who matter to me."

"And whose side would you chose if you had to?" Kushina asked softly.

"Let's hope it doesn't come to that," Jiraiya said. "Though… one of the things I was going to tell you was that the Uchiha aren't your friends. Here." He produced four letters and handed them to Tsunade, Shizune, Kakashi, and Kushina. "These will give you some idea of how much things have changed."

"This letter is addressed to Naruto," Kushina noted.

"There wasn't one for you." Jiraiya said.

Kushina knew there was a subtle message there. Fugaku would have to know that any letter to her eight year old son would be screened by her first. His unspoken message was clear; _my interest is in your son not you. _She tore open the envelope and began reading the letter inside.

Everyone else read theirs as well.

"Arrogant pig!" Tsunade muttered.

"Oh no, this is terrible," Shizune said.

"So, it's come to this," Kakashi said quietly.

Kushina finished the letter written to her son and began to crumple it. "How dare he," she said furiously. "He _orders _Naruto to return to Konoha?! By what right does he think to do that? Naruto may have been born there but he was never a citizen of Konoha!"

That was true. Simply being born in a ninja village did not result in citizenship. The law required that a child have at least one parent who was already a citizen or ninja of the village. Since her marriage to Minato was not recognized it meant that neither she nor her son were citizens.

"Not only is my son _not _under Konoha's authority he is a citizen of Suna now and son of a clan of Suna. He is answerable to the Kazekage **not** the Hokage."

"I know that," Jiraiya said. "But Fugaku feels the village has a special interest in Naruto… considering."

"Oh I _know _that Fugaku has a special interest in my son. Tsunade told me how he was the one baying the loudest to have Naruto killed in his crib. And he thinks I'll pack him off and send him back to that place?"

"Probably not," Jiraiya admitted. "But he likely wants to be able to say he at least asked first."

"And what about this?" Tsunade waved her letter about. "A recall order? And a threat to mark me a missing nin if I don't comply?"

"It's not just you," Kakashi said. "I'm being ordered to return to duty as a Leaf nin or become a missing nin as well."

"Fugaku always felt the old man was way too lax in how he ran things. The Uchiha are big believers in order." Jiraiya said. "If it makes you feel any better he's also trying to tighten things on me too, and I'm the village's spy master."

"What do we do?' Shizune asked.

"I'm not going back until Naruto gets what's his," Tsunade announced and tore her letter to shred.

"I am done serving the leaf village," Kakashi replied. "Threatening me certainly won't change that."

Shizune seemed troubled and did not know what to say.

"It's all right Shizune," Tsunade said.

"Lady Tsunade, what do you mean?"

"You've stood by me and helped me more than I could have ever expected or hoped for. You've been a great apprentice and a much better friend. But I know you want to go home, you can go."

"But…"

"If you don't go you'll be marked a missing nin and never be able to return," Tsunade spoke firmly. "Besides, maybe it'll be for the best. You can be our eyes in Konoha."

_Moving a spy into place, _Jiraiya thought. _Just as if Konoha were the enemy. _"If you don't plan on returning what will the two of you do?"

"If you become Suna nin that will protect you," Kushina said.

When a ninja went rogue he was declared a missing nin by his home village. That meant he was to be killed on sight by any ninja of that same village. He could also expect to be pursued by specially trained hunter nin. He would spend the rest of his life a pursued man.

Unless he could be accepted by another village. In that case he received the protection of that village.

"I don't like it," Tsunade muttered. "But I guess there's no choice."

"What about you Kakashi?" Jiraiya asked.

"Nope," Kakashi said with a hidden grin. "One village was enough for me; I won't pledge myself to another one."

"Kakashi," Kushina said nervously. "If you don't you'll be pursued by hunter nin, not to mention you'll be attacked by any Leaf nin you run into."

"I know," Kakashi replied. "But so far as I'm concerned I haven't done anything wrong and I don't see any reason I should suddenly have to serve a new master. If they come after me I'll deal with them. It's just that simple."

"Are you really ready to kill your fellow leaf nin Kakashi?" Jiraiya asked.

"If I have to," Kakashi replied. "I'm not eager to do that to people I once fought beside. But if they come after me I'll do what I have to. If they insist on making me an enemy that's their choice."

"Is Fugaku deliberately trying to make all of us his enemies?" Kushina asked.

"It does seem that way," Jiraiya said. "Remember I mentioned that the Uchiha aren't your friends? There's more you need to know about. The Namikaze estates."

"What about them?" Kushina asked sharply.

XXXXXXXXXX

Fugaku stood before the magnificent Namikaze mansion and smiled benevolently at all the people and objects that were going in and out. On the roof a flag pole had been erected and flying proudly from it was the symbol of the military police. In the middle of that symbol there was of course the Uchiha clan symbol.

With the authority of the Hokage he had signed a simple decree removing the Namikaze estates and fortunes from trust and seizing them for the, 'best use of the village.' He had immediately decided that the best possible use for this property would be to have it serve as the new Military Police Headquarters. Its strategic location right next to the Hyuuga would also serve as a silent, but powerful, reminder to his leading rival of his power within the village.

He did not trust the Hyuuga. The fact that Hiashi would actually make a marriage contract with the Kyuubi's container defied logic. He would have to do something about that eventually. But he could not be too aggressive. He'd seized the Namikaze estates knowing he had the support of both the Council and the people. Most everyone considered the Namikaze line extinct, so no one objected to the village taking the clan properties for their own use. The vast fortune had gone straight in to the village's budget and would pay for all sorts of new construction projects. Hiashi had not been happy about that, no doubt he dreamed of seeing his daughter living here some day with that jinchuuriki. Well that would never happen now. So long as Hyuuga was isolated there was little Hiashi could do.

Fugaku understood that his power in the village was not complete. He needed to keep the clans, or at least most of them, on his side. He'd kept his promise to Danzo; the man had been promoted to command of the entire ANBU. He'd also kept his promises to Koharu and Homura; they would remain in their current offices and keep their great personal power. He was also busy consolidating his hold on power. All the important offices within the village were being given to Uchihas or to trusted allies. For the next six months he intended to be the most peaceful and benevolent leader the village had ever seen. This would be a time for cementing his position and winning the popular support of the villagers and the ninja. When he officially held the title of Hokage he would begin to put his true agenda into effect.

When he saw Riyuki exit the building his optimistic mood soured a bit. "Give me some good news; tell me you have found them brother."

Uchiha Riyuki licked his lips. "I am sorry Fugaku; we have gone over every inch of the private library and the Fourth's office. We have found no jutsu scrolls anywhere."

"In that case begin a search of the entire mansion, you can use the whole police force, hell you can use the whole clan. Break through the walls, smash the floor boards, turn this place upside down if you have to, but I want those scrolls. I want the Hiraishin no Jutsu above all."

Looking anything but pleased Riyuki bowed. "Yes brother." He hurried back into the mansion.

_I __**must**__ have the Hiraishin, _Fugaku thought. _Any ninja who can master that jutsu will be counted among the most powerful in the world._

XXXXXXXXXX

"HE DID WHAT?!!" Kushina screamed furiously.

"The Namikaze estates have been seized by the village. Fugaku intends to turn the mansion into a new headquarters for the military police." Jiraiya said carefully.

"He took my son's rightful legacy and stole it," Kushina spat.

"I'm afraid it's done Kushina," Jiraiya said. "There's nothing that can be done about it now."

Feeling consumed by rage she forced herself to calm down. She thought things had been bad when Sarutobi had refused to recognize her marriage and Naruto's rights as heir. But at least he'd kept enough honor to hold onto the estates so that they might still be inherited one day. So far as she was concerned Fugaku and the village had just _stolen _what was rightfully Naruto's. The mere fact Fugaku was now Hokage, or regent, didn't make what he did any less an act of outright theft.

"I don't care," she said at last. "Some how, some way, we'll get it all back. That mansion _will _belong to him some day."

Jiraiya decided not to argue the point. He had been at Kushina's and Minato's wedding. He was among only four people living who had, and all of them were present now. Himself, Tsunade, Kushina, and Saishu. He knew that Naruto was Minato's legitimate heir. The problem was that no matter how unfair it was the village was not willing to see that. Sarutobi had done what he could while Fugaku didn't give a damn. He just couldn't see any way the village would ever accept Naruto as Minato's heir. But he was ready to do all he could to help Naruto.

So long as it did not hurt the village.

"I have some additional information that I think you should know."

Kushina eyed him and prepared herself. "What?"

"There's a new criminal organization out there that I've been tracking. It's made up of elite S and A rank missing nin. They're called Akatsuki."

"So? What does this have to do with us?"

"They're some indications that they're searching out the nine Biju for some reason. It's possible they may be interested in acquiring them. For what purpose I couldn't guess, but I doubt it would be benevolent."

"Wonderful," Kushina said wearily. "One more threat to worry about." She looked at Jiraiya. "There anything more you want to share with us?"

"No, I think that about covers things for now. I will keep an eye out for anything that might affect Naruto. Speaking of which, how much does he know about his heritage?"

"He knows he was born in Konoha. That his father, my husband, was a powerful ninja who died the night of the Kyuubi's attack. He knows that his father loved him and wanted him to be part of his clan and that I hope he will eventually return to Konoha to join his father's clan. He also knows that I left because the villagers would not accept us with his father gone."

"That's all he knows?"

"That's all."

"And what about the _other_ part of his heritage?"

"He doesn't know anything about that," she said. "And it's going to stay that way. Understand?"

"Sure," Jiraiya said. "I would never interfere in how you're raising your son. Now then, what was this favor you wanted for your other son?"

"Before I tell you, I need your solemn word that you won't tell anyone what I reveal to you. That specifically includes Fugaku and the Leaf village."

Jiraiya nodded; nothing about some youngster in Suna could be _that_ important. "I give you my word."

"And you had better keep it," Kushina told him sternly. "What I need is for you to adjust a seal that Gaara has. It was apparently poorly made and because of that he can't sleep and he says he's starting to hear a voice talk to him. Since you are the world's top seal master now it should be no problem for you to fix."

"Wait a moment, Gaara has a seal? What sort of seal?"

She took a deep breath. "Gaara is the jinchuuriki of the one tail Shukaku demon."

Jiraiya stared at her with his jaw hanging open.

"If you even think of telling anyone that," Tsunade growled. "I'll make the beating I gave you that time outside the bath look like a slap on the wrist."

XXXXXXXXXX

Jiraiya kept his promise and following their meeting his first order of business was to repair the seal written on Gaara's back. Though the boy tried to hide it he was nervous. The way the sand at his feet kept shifting and moving was a dead giveaway. Gaara did not comment as Jiraiya took a brush and ink and drew symbols onto his skin. Kushina was there holding his hand and quietly encouraging him to relax.

When the new seal was at last done Jiraiya made a hand sign and the ink glowed with chakra and joined the writing already there. The moment it was done Gaara collapsed and pitched forward into his mother's arms. The sand at his feet stopped moving and spilled all over the floor.

"Mo… mother? What's wrong with me? I feel weak."

"There's nothing wrong with you Gaara-kun," Kushina assured him. The sealing had been done in her room. She carefully laid her son down onto her bed. "The weakness you feel is from being exhausted from never having slept. Jiraiya has fixed what was wrong, that means you'll be able to sleep now, and you shouldn't hear that voice anymore."

His eyes widened and he looked up at her panicked. "I'm going to fall asleep?"

She nodded. "That's right Gaara-kun."

He reached out and took a hold of her hand. "Is it safe? Mother I'm scared!"

Smiling she held his small hand in her hers and slid into the bed beside him. "There's nothing to be scared of Gaara-kun," she said to him gently and held him close to. "You've seen me and Naruto and everyone else sleep. It's as natural as breathing or eating. It will be fine I promise."

Her gentle words and the feeling of being held calmed him. "Will… will you stay with me mother?"

Smiling she planted a tender kiss on his forehead. "Yes, I'll stay with you as you sleep me dear one. And when you wake up I will be right here."

"Really?"

"Yes, I promise." As she held him she began to rock him slowly back and forth as she sang a lullaby.

Gaara's eyes began to grow heavy. Before he knew it they were closed and he was fast asleep.

Seeing that Kushina placed another kiss upon his forehead. "Sleep well my dear one, and dream of wonders."


	16. Not hard to figure out

"My spies have brought me some interesting news," a large blocky figure said. He had on a black robe with red clouds and was wearing a pointed straw hat.

His partner turned to him with an amused grin. "Ku, ku, ku and what pray tell might that be?" Orochimaru asked.

"Seems your old teacher has disappeared." Sasori stated. The puppet master was amused at the way his partner did a double take and stared at him. _Just as I thought, he looks devastated._

"When did this happen?" Orochimaru demanded.

"A few days ago it seems, I just received word from my special agent in Konoha. Your sensei just up and vanished without a trace. They've already installed someone as a replacement."

Orochimaru cared nothing about that. What did it matter who replaced him? "Damn it you foolish old man! How could you be so careless?!" Orochimaru sent his partner a suspicious glance. "Did you or anyone else here have anything to do with this?"

A low laugh came from Sasori's throat. "You think I wanted to get a matching set of Kage puppets?"

"Did you?"

Sasori shook his head. "Neither I nor anyone else in this organization had anything to do with it. Your Hokage was an old man and you're always going on about what a fool he was. Perhaps he simply let his guard down and paid the price?"

Orochimaru looked away, shaking furiously. "He was an old fool, but he should have been smarter than that!"

Sasori studied him. _He's like the wayward child who runs away from home. He says he hated Sarutobi, what an obvious lie. He loved him like a father. He probably dreamed of killing him, but that only proves the strength of his bond._

"I am going for a walk." Orochimaru stormed out.

XXXXXXXXXX

He exited the hidden Akatsuki base and went out for a walk among the trees.

_Damn you Sarutobi-sensei, _he thought bitterly. _I was supposed to be the one to kill you! I wanted you to acknowledge my genius and admit you were wrong to choose Minato over me! _Even after all these years that shame still burned in him. _I was going to make you see the error of your ways before sending you to hell. But it seems you really were a fool and someone else has beaten me to it. _If Orochimaru ever learned the identity of Sarutobi's killer / kidnapper he would die a slow and painful death. For that man had cheated him of his rightful vengeance and destroyed a cherished dream.

_So now what? _Orochimaru wondered. Since joining Akatsuki he'd been able to proceed with his research and made great headway. He was certain he would soon discover the secret of immortality. _That first, obviously, but what do I do next? _His vengeance against Sarutobi and Minato had been denied him. He still harbored a resentment towards Konoha, but that was more general, it paled beside his hatred of Sarutobi. He'd been playing with the idea of founding his own village and becoming a Kage in his own right. Then one day destroying Konoha as poor old Sarutobi-sensei watched.

But deep in his heart what he _really _wanted was not to be Kage of some new village. No, what he had always wanted was to wear the Hokage robes and rule over the leaf. He'd longed to look up at the cliff face and see his own image carved there. _I should have been Hokage, not Minato. _He thought bitterly.

He came to an abrupt halt as realization dawned on him. _But it's not too late! Even if that fool won't be around to see it I can still take what's rightfully mine! To rule Konoha and bring my home village to glory was always my fate._

"The Lord Hokage Orochimaru," he hissed. "Yessss, that does have a good ring to it."

Laughing he headed back towards the base, a new dream in his little black heart.

XXXXXXXXXX

Naruto had put down the fingerprints of one hand and now finished writing his name in blood. As he signed the toad summoning contract ne noticed the previous name there, Namikaze Minato. Jiraiya's was the name prior to that one.

"So this means I can summon toads now right?"

Jiraiya nodded and rolled up the contract. "That's right kid." He handed the contract back to its guardian toad and both vanished in a puff of smoke. "You just need to draw some of your own blood and perform the jutsu I showed you. You'll be able to summon any toad you wish, provided you have enough chakra of course."

"You know I really wanted to sign the dog contract and Kakashi-niisan would have let me. But my mom always said she wanted me to be able to summon toads."

"Well kid your dad was able to summon toads so you think of it as a family tradition. Besides, toads are a _much _better summons than dogs."

"I don't think niisan would agree with you there."

"Kakashi is a good kid, with excellent taste in literature, but he's biased. Trust me; you got the better deal."

Naruto shrugged. "Well you're probably biased too; I think dogs are way cooler than a bunch of dumb old toads. Heck, slugs are probably better."

"What are you out of your mind?" Jiraiya looked offended. "Don't even think of comparing the awesome power of toads to dogs and _especially _not to slugs."

"Well I still don't see what's so great about them."

Feeling annoyed that the value of his generous gift was being questioned Jiraiya bit down on his thumb. "All right kid, I'll give you a demonstration of just _why _this summons is so great." He ran through some hand signs. **"Kuchiyose no Jutsu." **He slammed his hand into the ground.

They were enveloped by smoke and Naruto got the unexpected sensation of being lifted off the ground. When the smoke cleared Naruto found that both he and Jiraiya were sitting on top of a rather angry looking toad with a jacket, pipe, and even a sword. Looking down Naruto saw that the giants summons took up most of their courtyard.

"Jiraiya!" the angry toad boomed. "What's the idea of summoning me out of the blue like this? You had better have a good explanation or you'll regret it."

"Actually Gamabunta I wanted to introduce you to someone," Jiraiya hurriedly pushed Naruto out in front of him. "This is Uzumaki Naruto, he just signed the contract."

Standing on the giant toad's lip Naruto saw both eyes focus on him, it was a little nerve wracking. "Uh, please to meet you sir." Naruto gave the toad a bow.

"Heh, nice to see someone here has manners," his eyes flashed to Jiraiya then back again. "My name is Gamabunta, and I'm the boss toad summons. I worked with your father Naruto, and I was very fond of him. That's why I wanted you to sign the contract. If you work very hard and show me proper respect I'll consider making you my underling."

"Uh, but since I'm the summoner doesn't that mean you have to do what I say?"

Gamabunta's eyes narrowed dangerously. "What was that?"

"Nothing boss!" Naruto said quickly.

"Hmph, that's what I thought." Those eyes looked at him consideringly for a moment. "You look just like your father Naruto; I'm glad that a part of him lives on in you. I expect great things of you, try not to screw up, got it?"

Without warning the toad vanished in a puff of smoke and Naruto found himself plummeting towards the ground.

"Waaaaaaaaah!"

He was saved from death by Jiraiya grabbing hold of him. Together they somehow landed safe and sound. Once Naruto was back on the ground Jiraiya gave him a winning smile. "See? Didn't I tell you toads were the best?"

Naruto looked up at him. _I wonder if it's too late to get Kakashi-niisan to let me sign his contract._

XXXXXXXXXX

"Oh Sasuke-kun!" A little pink haired girl called out. "Can I have lunch with you?"

"No way!" A little blonde girl in a purple outfit pushed past her rival. "You want to have lunch with me right Sasuke-kun?"

Hinata looked away from what she thought of as foolishness. Sakura and Ino were always chasing after Sasuke and trying to get his attention. Actually about half the girls in her class were, those two were just the loudest. All his little fan girls talked about how cute he was, about that adorable smile he had, of how smart and how skilled. He was the number one student in the class after all. He was an elite Uchiha and now that his father was probably going to be the next Hokage he was even more popular than ever.

Hinata had never once spoken to him and didn't believe she ever would. That was not because she disliked Sasuke. (Though she was well aware that many in her clan did not like the Uchiha.) She had not spoken to most of the boys in her class. It was simply because of her shyness coupled with the fact she really didn't have anything to say.

So she was rather surprised when she noticed someone standing behind where she was seated having her lunch.

"Excuse me Hinata," Sasuke said in a friendly voice. "Can I have lunch with you?"

She turned about to see Sasuke standing there with his tray and about six or seven girls standing behind him, their mouths hanging open.

"Ex… ex… excuse me?"

"Can I have lunch with you?" Not waiting for her answer he sat down in the seat next to her and began to unwrap a rice ball.

"Wh… wh… why do you wa… want to ha… have lunch wi… with me?" Not only Sasuke's presence but the feeling of all those female eyes looking at her made her stutter even worse than usual.

"My dad told me I should get to know you better," he began eating the lunch his mom had made for him.

"Wh… why?"

"Don't know," Sasuke said. "He just said I should get to know you better. So I figured we should have lunch together from now on. That o.k. with you?"

"Uh, o… o.k." She silently began eating her noodles. She could still feel the hostile female glares searing into her back.

The cafeteria was soon filled with whispers that Sasuke had to be attracted to the shy, 'princess types.'

A stunned Sakura looked over to an equally amazed Ino. "Just so we're clear, we hate her now right?"

"Yeah!" Ino agreed savagely.

XXXXXXXXXX

"So what do you think?" Naruto asked as they headed to the house to have dinner.

"Not too bad," Jiraiya replied. "I've seen better though."

That was a lie. The fact was he had _never _had a student with so much raw potential. He was practically drooling at the thought of what he could do with him. The boy was only 8, back in Konoha he'd be a first year academy student. Yet he was already a Genin if not a low Chunin. He had immense chakra, decent (not great) control, already knew twenty jutsus including and A-rank and a couple B-rank. There were plenty of competent ninja out there who never mastered that many and who never knew a single A-rank jutsu. His taijutsu was passable as was his basic weapons. But according to Kushina he was getting close to mastering the dance of the Camellia and becoming a first level blade master. Obviously the boy had gotten a lot of training and it showed. Even Minato had been nowhere near this accomplished at a similar age.

"So am I better than my dad was at this age?"

Jiraiya burst out into a mocking laugh. "What are you kidding? Your dad was a once in a lifetime talent! You have a long way to go before you'd even compare to him."

Naruto looked annoyed at the critique. "Whatever, no matter how good he was I'll definitely be better!"

Jiraiya looked down at the boy and was very careful not to smile. _You know what kid? I bet you will be! Especially if you have me there to help. _"You? Better than your father? Hah! That'll be the day!"

Naruto grumbled something as they went inside.

XXXXXXXXXX

The entire family was gathered for dinner along with their dear friends and their guest. This was Shizune's last night with them. She would be leaving the next day with Jiraiya. After only a few days Jiraiya felt he had to return to Konoha or Fugaku would begin to wonder the reasons for his extended stay.

"I'll be back as often as I can," Jiraiya said. "I don't think I'll be able to stay more than a few days at a time though, so whenever I do come here I'd like to have Naruto work with me exclusively so I can give him as much instruction as possible with my limited time."

Kushina nodded, "That's fine."

"You know his skills are easily advanced enough for him to become a ninja now."

"Really?!" Naruto said excitedly. He turned to his mother. "Does that mean I can take the Genin exam?"

"No," his mother said sharply. "When you become a ninja you will be targeted and be in a great deal of danger. I'm putting that day off for as long as I can; besides I want both you and Gaara to become ninja at the same time."

"Why?" Gaara asked curiously. "I don't object mother, but why would you want that?"

"Because that way I can have both of you on the same squad," she explained. "The clans here have a lot of power and they can set up their own formations so long as the ninja serving agree. I want you and Naruto to be together so you can protect each other."

"Well that at least would be good," Naruto said. He was disappointed at not being allowed to become a ninja immediately, but the idea of working with his brother made him happy. "Do you know who our sensei will be?"

"Actually Naruto," Kakashi spoke up. "That'll be…"

"Me," Tsunade cut him off with a triumphant grin.

"Since when?" Kakashi asked.

"Since you decided to become a missing nin," Tsunade replied and pointed to the brand new Suna hitai-ite that was around her forehead. "If you're their sensei that'll put them in additional danger. Along with people who might be looking for Naruto they'd have to worry about running into hunter nin too."

"But…"

"I'm sorry Kakashi," Kushina spoke decisively. "But Tsunade is right. Being a missing nin will put them in additional danger. If you'll become a Sand nin you can be their sensei, but not otherwise."

Kakashi hung his head in defeat. Tsunade continued to smile.

"How come Naruto rates all this special treatment?" An annoyed Michio asked. "Why is he the only one who gets to sign the Toad contract and gets to have special training?"

"It's because of who his father was," Jiraiya said.

"And just who was he?" Michio asked.

"My father," Naruto announced proudly. "Was Namikaze Minato, the Yondaime Hokage and the man who killed the Kyuubi."

Except for gasps there was total silence around the dinner table as everyone stared at a triumphant Naruto.

Little Miwa turned to her mother. "What's a Hokage?"

"YOU IDIOT!!" Tsunade jumped up from her seat and slammed her fist into Jiraiya's face sending him flying into the kitchen wall.

"How could you tell him that?!" A furious Kushina got up and yanked out her katana.

"I never told him! I swear!" Jiraiya pleaded.

"Mom! Godmother! Wait! It's true no one told me, I figured it out."

"How?" Kushina demanded.

Naruto began rubbing the back of his head nervously. "It, ah, wasn't that hard. I noticed when I signed the summoning contract that the only name after Jiraiya's was Namikaze Minato. Since Jiraiya said my father used to be his student and since both he and Gamabunta and you mom said he used to summon toads it was pretty east to figure out. And if I had any doubts at all I sure don't anymore."

"I see," Kushina said with a depressed sigh. She nicked her hand with her sword and put it back in its sheath.

"Wait a minute!" Michio said. "You mean Naruto's dad was **the** Yellow Flash of Konoha?"

"That's a family secret," Kushina declared sternly. "None of you are to tell _anyone _outside the clan." She looked at her son. "Come with me Naruto, we need to talk."


	17. Your father

Naruto sat down on his mother's bed. "So am I in trouble?"

She shut the door and cast a security jutsu to prevent any sound from leaving the room. She then looked at her son. "No, of course not, though I would have liked to have kept you from finding out about this for a little longer."

"Why?" Naruto asked. "I finally understand why you want me to go back to Konoha. I'm the son of the Yondaime Hokage!"

"Naruto," she said sharply. "I meant it when I said that was a family secret. You are not to tell anyone outside the clan, at least not for some time yet."

"But why? I mean shouldn't we want people to know I'm the son of a ninja legend?"

"That depends, would you like to have about fifty Iwa nin show up one night trying to kill you?"

Narutoi looked at her, not sure if she was serious or not. "Why would Iwa nin come after me?"

"For revenge," Kushina said. "Son your father killed _hundreds _of them in the last war. More than any other single person he was the reason Leaf defeated Iwa in the Third Great Ninja war. Ninja hold grudges like anyone else, and believe me they haven't forgotten what your father dsid to them. He may be gone now but I'm sure plenty of Iwa ninja would love to take revenge on you, his only child. And the damn rock nins are far from the only enemies your father made, they were just the worst. So unless you want to be targeted for assassination you'll keep this a very closely guarded secret."

Naruto was obviously disappointed but nodded his acceptance. "Will I be able to tell people eventually?"

"Yes, but not until **I **think the time is right, and that day is years away yet."

"I understand I guess, though I'd love to shout it from the rooftops." He looked at her. "But mom if I'm the Yondaime's son and you were his wife why did they make us leave?"

"That's… complicated." She sat down on the bed next to him. "I'll start from the beginning; I have a lot to tell you. But before I start let me make something clear to you Naruto. You are going to learn _some _secrets today, but not all of them. There are still things about yourself that you will need to wait to learn about.

"You mean you're not telling me everything today?"

"That's right, there are still things that I don't think you're quite ready for."

"Well I don't suppose it's a big deal if you keep a few small things from me," Naruto said philosophically. "I mean I just found out I'm the son of the famous Yellow Flash of Konoha. What could be bigger than that?"

"You might be surprised," Kushina said in a dry tone. Seeing his curious look she decided to press on before he asked any more questions. "Any way, the first thing that I need to explain is that your father was every bit as worried for my safety and the safety of our children as I am about your safety. So when your father asked me to marry him it was with a condition; he wanted us to keep our marriage a secret."

"Wait a minute! So you and dad were married in secret? So people thought you were his…"

"Yes."

"And when I was born they thought I was…"

"Yes, and that was the start of the problem."

Over the next hour she carefully explained the situation. Naruto did not enjoy hearing that the people in Konoha considered his mom to be nothing but the great man's mistress and himself to, literally, be a bastard. The news of what the Uchiha had just done didn't bother him much.

He actually laughed about that. "So basically as soon as I learn about this great fortune I'm supposed to inherit I learn it's been taken away? Oh well, easy come easy go."

"Your inheritance has not been taken away Naruto," his mother said vigorously. "At least not all of it. The family fortune is gone, that'll be spent by the damn village and there's nothing we can do about it. But the estates are still there and those are yours no matter what Fugaku may claim. There's also the clan name and position son. Namikaze is an honored name not just in Konoha but throughout the elemental lands and the clan also has a hereditary seat on the Council. Even if much else has been lost as Namikaze clan head you will still be a very important man in Konoha." Kushina smiled mysteriously and got up. "Any way the most precious part of your legacy is right here, and I think it's time you received it."

Going into her closet she pressed a button and a small trap door opened. From out of it she took out a single scroll. The second he saw it his interest was piqued. Nothing interested him more than new jutsus.

"Is that a jutsu scroll?"

"Not exactly, it _holds_ a jutsu scroll." She made a single hand sign. "**Release." **With a puff of smoke a large new scroll suddenly appeared in the room. It was four feet high and more than a foot thick.

"Whoa!" Naruto said excitedly. "How many jutsus are in there? Thirty? Forty? Fifty?"

"Just one," she said.

"One?" He gawked at the huge scroll.

"That's right, just one, but it's considered to be the most powerful jutsu ever created by a Leaf ninja. This one technique was what truly set your father apart and made him a ninja legend. This is the one and only copy of the Hiraishin no Jutsu. This is the greatest part of your father's legacy and it's your s now."

"Mine?" He said a bit numbly.

She nodded. "That's right; from now on you are going to spend **every** day studying it. You can use your shadow clones to study even while you're bust with other things. It may take you years to learn it, but once you do you'll be a ninja legend… just like your father."

_A ninja legend? Like the Yellow Flash? _His hands were shaking a bit as he took the huge scroll. It was a little over whelming but he was still very excited and eager to start studying it. "Let me guess, this scroll an me studying it is another secret right?"

Smiling she patted her son on the head. "Such a smart boy!"

XXXXXXXXXX

A few days later Jiraiya was in his former teacher's office. Currently it was the Regent's office. Fugaku had a worn looking leaf hitai-ite in his hands.

"Tsunade insisted I give that to you and that I tell you you're an idiot." Fugaku sent him an angry look but Jiraiya pretended not to notice. "Her words of course, not mine."

"She actually preferred becoming a Suna nin to returning to the village her own grandfather founded." He hadn't expected that. He'd of course known there was no chance of Naruto's returning but he'd expected Tsunade and Kakashi to return. (Shizune's return he counted as almost irrelevant.) He'd wanted Tsunade-hime and the famed copy ninja here as proof of his authority. "And Kakashi actually prefers being a missing nin? Does he want Konoha as an enemy?"

"How funny, Kushina asked that very question about you and all of them."

"I am not asking for any of them to make any kind of sacrifice," Fugaku said sharply. "I only asked them to return to the service of their rightful village."

"That would hold true for Tsunade, Kakashi, and Shizune. But not for Naruto or his mother."

"Given what this village suffered at the hands of the Kyuubi Naruto belongs here."

"If you feel that way just recognize him as Minato's heir and return the family estates and fortunes to him," Jiraiya said pleasantly.

Fugaku sent him the blackest of looks. "That boy is no Namikaze!"

"Yes he is, though I don't expect you to ever believe that," Jiraiya let out breath. "Any way done is done now. What are you going to do about Kakashi?"

"What do you mean? He has refused a recall order and abandoned his village. From this moment on he is a missing nin. The fact he won't even join another village is a direct insult to me and my power. He thinks to defy me with impunity."

"Do you really want to do that?" Jiraiya asked. "That will lead to nothing but pointless death."

"Kakashi made his choice he can suffer for it."

"I was thinking about our hunter nins," Jiraiya commented.

Despite Jiraiya arguments Kakashi's name went down on the list of missing nin.

XXXXXXXXXX

Hinata was relieved when class ended and she saw Kurenai standing there to escort her home. Ever since Sasuke had started eating lunch with her all the girls had started being very nasty. They either refused to acknowledge her or deliberately insulted her. (Though she noted they suddenly became civil whenever Sasuke was nearby.) None of them had the courage to do more than talk though; she was still the Hyuuga heiress after all.

Kurenai turned a friendly smile tot eh little girl. "Did you have a bad day at class?"

Hinata gave her an appreciative grin. What did it say that the kindest people in her life were an eight year old living in another country and her body guard? "It was normal," she said quietly. "Sasuke had lunch with me again."

Kurenai noted the depressed tone and lifted an eyebrow. "You don't sound very excited. Do you not like him?"

She thought about it. "I don't dislike him, but he never even said hello to me before and now he's always trying to talk to me."

"Boys are like that sometimes," Kurenai told her. "Sometimes when they like a girl they show her too much attention."

"But I don't think he really likes me." Hinata said. "I think he's only doing it because his father wants him too."

"I see," Kurenai replied. She could certainly see the reasons why that might be.

"I wish Naruto lived here, I'd much rather have lunch with him every day."

Kurenai smiled down at the shy little girl. The Chunin noted that her tone changed completely whenever she mentioned Naruto. "You really like him don't you Hinata?"

She saw the girl's cheeks darken and she began to nervously press her fingers together. "Ye… yes, and I… I thi… think he really likes me too." Her face got noticeably darker after she said that last part.

"Well that's good Hinata; it's wonderful the two of you like each other."

Hinata nodded her agreement, she thought so too.

As Kurenai walked her charge home she did not mention what she thought Sasuke's sudden friendliness really meant."

XXXXXXXXXX

**Omake**

Kushina had returned from the Council meeting much earlier than expected. Since today was Kakashi's turn to train the boys she'd expected to see them in the courtyard busy practicing. When she arrived though the courtyard was empty.

_Well that's odd, _Kushina thought. _I wonder if he took them out into the wastes to practice jutsus._

When she came inside she saw Aoi playing with Miwa. "Hey Aoi, hey honey."

"Auntie!" Miwa called.

"Hello Kushina," Aoi greeted.

"Have you seen Kakashi and the boys?" She asked.

"They're in his room; he says he's giving them some special instruction."

"In his room?" She was quite curious as to what sort of instruction he would want to give them in private. With a playful grin on her lips she decided to do a little, 'protective surveillance.' (Naruto always claimed it was spying.)

Reducing her chakra signature she moved silently to Kakashi's door and placed her ear to it. At first all she heard were some boyish giggles. Then Kakashi's voice began to speak.

XXXXXXXXXX

Kakashi had always believed that a proper sensei tried to teach his students _all_ the lessons they would need in life. Thus, being the responsible sensei he was, he'd decided to give them some instruction in what being a man involved. After all, they were learning how to kill it only made sense they should learn about other serious matters at the same time.

Reading from his favorite volume of the Icha Icha series he spoke in a lilting girlish voice. "'Oh Tako! Why are you naked in my bedroom? And what is that _massive_ thing?!' The virgin princess cried out!"

Kakashi changed his tone to a manlier one. "'This?' Tako said proudly. 'Why this is my sword. Let me slide it into your warm body.'"

His voice became girlish again and a bit high pitched. "'You want to put that inside me?' The innocent princess cried out. 'But won't that hurt?'"

"Tako smiled at her and waved his powerful sword about. 'This may hurt some but I'll enjoy it.'"

Kakashi and the boys all began to giggle.

Their giggle stopped as the door was suddenly kicked open. Kakashi's heart nearly stopped at the pressure from all the killer intent coming at him. Kushina was standing there with her katana in both hands her eyes blazing. "**Kakashi**!" She screamed.

Kakashi jumped to his feet as the children all huddled together in terror. "Let me explain!" He wailed.

"This is my sword," she announced. "Let me slide it into your warm body."

"I think that would really hurt!" a panicked Kakashi said.

"This may hurt some but I'll enjoy it!"

XXXXXXXXXX

Surprisingly Kakashi's loudest cries actually came later when all his little books were burned.


	18. The Fifth Hokage

**Author's Note: **In the story A Mother's Love I had a character named, 'Gabrella' I received a ridiculous amount of grief over her name because it was not Japanese. To spare myself the unneeded aggravation her name in this story will be, 'Hisa.' She is the same character but with a different name. Also Itachi and Sasuke's mother Mikoto is a civilian. I **know **that in the manga it is stated she is a powerful ninja. But in both this story and the original AML I had her be a non ninja.

**Six Months Later**

Sasuke was jumping about excitedly. "When are we going kaasan?"

"Soon," Mikoto promised her youngest son. Both she and her son were dressed in dark blue kimonos for this special occasion.

As if on cue the doors to Fugaku's private study opened. Riyuki and several other clan leaders stepped out. All of them in formal dress, all of them with proud smiles on their faces. The last one to come out was Fugaku himself. He was dressed in the red and white robes of the Hokage for the very first time. Looking over to his wife and youngest son he smiled and waved them over. "Come Mikoto, come Sasuke, walk beside me as we go to the Tower."

With a fluid grace Mikoto moved to her husband's side and serenely took his arm as was proper. Sasuke rushed to his father's side with s huge smile on his face. "You're really going to become Hokage today father?"

Fugaku nodded and placed his hands on Sasuke's head to gently pat it. "That's right Sasuke, today is my formal coronation. As of today I will be the Fifth Hokage of Konoha."

"Congratulations father," a dry emotionless voice spoke.

Fugaku turned to see his eldest son, his heir and pride of the clan standing outside his room in his ANBU armor and with his raven's mask hanging from his belt. He immediately turned a dire face towards Itachi. "What are you doing dressed like that?"

"I have a patrol," he answered simply.

"A patrol? During my coronation? Don't be ridiculous. I specifically ordered Danzo to leave you free from all duties today."

"I agreed to exchange shifts with a fellow ANBU. He wanted very much to attend the ceremony today."

Fugaku bit down an angry shout. He turned to his wife and second son. "Mikoto, Sasuke, everyone, please wait for me outside I want to have a word in private with Itachi."

"Come on Sasuke," his mother said pleasantly and took a hold of his hand. Riyuki quietly followed them out the door.

With everyone gone Fugaku glared at the insolent boy. "Do you enjoy shaming me in front of our family?"

Itachi inclined his head a few inches. "I did not mean to shame you father. I was simply stating the reason I was in my armor."

Fugaku stared at his son who just stared back at him calmly.

"What is wrong with you?" Fugaku asked. "This is a day of celebration not just for me but for our entire clan. Why do you alone, among all of us, refuse to celebrate this great day?"

Itachi looked at his father with those calm unreadable eyes. "Because you and I both know you are not worthy of the position and I will not pretend otherwise."

The words struck him like a slap to his face. "I don't understand you at all," Fugaku said tightly.

"You do not need to understand me father," Itachi said. "May I go on patrol now… Hokage –sama?"

"Yes, yes go Itachi," Fugaku said. "Maybe that's best after all."

Itachi put on his ANBU mask and then vanished in a swirl of wind and leaves.

_I really don't understand him at all. I look in his eyes and it's as though there is nothing there._

When he stepped outside Fugaku looked relaxed and perfectly at ease. Mikoto again came to his side and took her proper place. Sasuke was happy to walk at his father's other side. Riyuki and the other leader fell into step right behind him.

No one said a word about Itachi.

As they walked through the Uchiha compound they were joined by more and more of the clan, all of them dressed in their finest clothes and walking with heads held high. They were all proud to know that Fugaku would soon be Lord Hokage. The Uchiha fell into the proper order almost naturally. The ninja joined the procession directly behind Fugaku and his immediate family. While the Uchiha civilians came up behind them.

As they proceeded a young girl of eleven fell in among the ninja coming to her father's side. Smiling Riyuki reached out and took his daughter's hand. "Are you excited to see your uncle's coronation Hisa?"

The girl looked up and nodded excitedly. "Yes father."

As Fugaku left the Uchiha compound and made his way slowly to the Tower plaza he led a procession of hundreds. The entire clan had come out to support him and witness his ascension to the throne.

With one exception.

XXXXXXXXXX

Shikaku, Inoichi, and Chouza were at their favorite bar. Each had a beer in front of him. As they were each clan heads and members of the Council they and their immediate families would be attending the ceremony on the roof of the Tower. They were dressed in their best kimonos and had decided to stop by the bar for a little pre-ceremony celebration.

Shikaku lifted up his glass in a toast. "To Fugaku, the Fifth Hokage of Konoha. May kami help us all."

Both his friends chuckled as they clinked glasses and drank. Inoichi and Chouza took healthy drinks; Shikaku drained his glass and then motioned to the waitress for another.

"Geez," Chouza said. "Are you trying to get drunk?"

"You know if you show up for the ceremony wasted Yoshino is probably going to beat you with a frying pan." Inoichi teased.

"Troublesome," Shikaku muttered. He grinned knowingly at his blond friend. "Still, I'd rather have to put up with the occasional beating than have to give my wife jewelry every time she's mad at me."

"Shut up," Inoichi said. "Dita's not that bad."

"The next time she gets mad why don't you try giving her a dozen roses instead?" Chouza suggested.

"Idiot! That doesn't work when you own a flower shop!"

As soon as the waitress arrived with a fresh beer Shikaku downed most of it in none go.

"Whoa! You really are trying to get drunk aren't you?" Inoichi asked.

"Can you blame me?" Shikaku shot back. "We've gone from having Sarutobi and Minato as Hokages to Fugaku. If _that _doesn't warrant getting drunk then I don't know what does."

Inoichi and Chouza looked unhappy. The truth was none of them really wanted Fugaku as Hokage. But the problem was…

"Someone has to do it," Chouza said philosophically. "Do you want the job?"

Shikaku looked horrified. "Are you kidding? You think I like paper work? Besides, running the Nara clan and taking care of the herds is more than enough responsibility for me."

"Then who do you want instead of Fugaku?" Chouza asked. "Hiashi? Danzo? Shibi? Koharu? Homura?"

Shikaku blanched at the list of names. So far as he and most of the people of the village were concerned Hiashi was no different than Fugaku. They were both proud powerful men who valued the reputation of their clans above all else. To most of the village they were two sides of the same coin.

Danzo loved the village above all else and was, in his own way, a patriot. Unfortunately he was also a heartless militarist with fascist tendencies. Were he in power he would do his best to turn Konoha into a mirror image of Iwa.

Shibi was a good and decent man and would likely be a good and decent Hokage. The problem was that the Hokage needed to have people skills. He was expected to meet and deal with wealthy clients, diplomats, and even Kages and Daimyos. The cold and logical Aburame clan were not suited to this.

Koharu and Homura had spent most of their lives by Sarutobi's side, first as teammates and then as advisors. They were both powerful, intelligent, and experienced. But unlike Sarutobi they had chosen to remain firmly in the shadows and out of public view. Though politically powerful they had no friends and were not generally liked or trusted.

"How about Asuma?" Shikaku suggested. "He's Sarutobi's son after all. The apple couldn't have fallen far from the tree."

"You might be surprised," Chouza said. "He only came back to the village when he heard his father had disappeared. He and Sarutobi didn't really see eye to eye."

"He hasn't even attended any Council meetings," Inoichi pointed out. "You think he wants to be Hokage?"

"Well what about Jiraiya?"

Both his friends burst into sudden laughter.

"_Jiraiya?_" Chouza choked out. "You want a _pornographer _for Hokage?"

"Who cares about his hobbies?' Shikaku insisted. "He's a Sannin, a former student of the Third's, and former sensei of the Fourth's. I bet he'd be a great Hokage!"

"Has anyone even seen Jiraiya in the last eight years?" "Inoichi asked. "I'd be surprised if he's spent even thirty days in the village in all that time, and most of those were in the past six months. You have to at least live in the village if you want to be Hokage."

"Which also eliminates Tsunade," Chouza said.

Inoichi grinned. "Maybe we should send for Orochimaru, I bet at least he'd want the job."

"Wonderful," Shikaku commented. "The only Sannin who wants to be Hokage is a psychopath." He finished his beer.

"If only Minato were still alive," Chouza said sadly.

"Yeah, well if wishes were fishes we'd all live in the sea." Shikaku signaled for another beer. "What I wish is that Minato's woman and his kid had never left. Then Tsunade and that genius Kakashi would still be here."

"You can't blame Sarutobi for that," Inoichi said. "He wanted them both to stay. But Kushina insisted on being given not just the Namikaze fortunes but the family name too."

"Yeah? Well he should have given it to her if that's what it would have taken to keep them here." Shikaku said.

"Make Minato's mistress Namikaze clan head?" Chouza sounded shocked, but then he was a bit of a prude.

"Wouldn't things be better that way?" Shikaku insisted. "Tsunade and Kakashi would still be here, Fugaku might not be Hokage, and we wouldn't be losing sleep over a certain fox who lives in the desert."

Inoichi and Chouza both frowned at that last comment. In Konoha there was a slowly mounting sense of paranoia and fear. People were afraid of what the future might hold. They feared a terrible retribution would befall them one day, a retribution named Uzumaki Naruto. The son (legitimate or not) of their beloved Yondaime and possessor of the most awesome power ever witnessed by man.

Over the years the story had slowly gotten out that their Hokage's dying wish was that his son be viewed as a hero. Instead of course people had demanded his death and he and his mother had been forced to leave. It was generally assumed that had Naruto stayed he'd have eventually been murdered. With Naruto gone and no longer a part of their everyday lives the people had slowly gained a little perspective and gotten to reflect on the situation.

What had slowly begun to penetrate into the collective psyche of the village was a terrible sense of guilt. Their beloved Yondaime had died asking the village to honor his son. Instead he'd been cast out.

Now he was living in another village and growing up. What would he do to them when he was older if he had the full power of the Kyuubi? This question filled the village with an unspoken fear. One that likely would only get stronger in the years to come.

"All of this is pointless anyway," Inoichi declared. "Fugaku is being coroneted today. If you were serious about opposing him you should have done something months ago."

"I would have… if I had an alternative," Shikaku took a tug on his beer.

"Shikaku!" A hellish shriek rang through the bar. "Get your ass over here now!"

With a sigh Shikaku put his beer down and stood up. "Yes darling."

Yoshino was standing there in a beautiful gold and red kimono staring daggers at her husband. By her side was a bored looking miniature version of Shikaku minus his scars. He even had a smaller version of the same dark green kimono.

"When we get home tonight I'm going to beat you with my frying pan." Yoshino promised.

Shikaku didn't doubt her for a second. "Yes darling." _Still cheaper than Dita though._

XXXXXXXXXX

Asuma was in the house he'd grown up in, his father's house. He and his nephew Konohamaru were now the only residents, not counting the servants. He was in his regular work clothes, a cigarette in his lips. Both he and his nephew had decided not to attend the ceremony tonight. For both of them it was a painful reminder of what they'd lost.

Having now been missing for a full six months his father had been declared legally dead and his will had been out into affect. A large trust had been set up for Konohamaru to inherit when he came of age. Not surprisingly all the rest had been left to him.

Asuma would have gladly given it all up if he could have had just one more hour to talk to his father. There'd been too many hard words, too many arguments, and now none of them could ever be resolved, no words of forgiveness could ever be spoken.

At the moment he was in his father's private study taking care of a family obligation. Along with the will he'd received the location and combination for a hidden safe. '_Do whatever you wish with the contents.' _The will had instructed. He was curious what might be inside. He was sure it was nothing that had to do with village security; if it had he was sure his father would have left instructions with the ANBU. He was like that, always putting the needs of the village before everything else. _Stop it, _he thought. _Stop feeling bitter and neglected, he's gone, there's no use to it anymore. _He discovered the hidden safe behind a false floor panel. Despite all the time he'd spent in this room growing up he had never once suspected it existed.

He put in the combination and it opened with no difficulty. When he looked inside he was actually disappointed. No hidden stack of diamonds or forbidden jutsu scrolls, instead he found a couple old photo albums and some old drawings. Looking at them he was surprised to see they were a child's work with crayons. _He kept these from when I was a boy? _He was surprised, but happy. Taking the photo albums he looked through them. There were pictures of his dad when he was _much _younger. There were pictures of his mom and his brother. There were many of the entire family together. He was surprised to see a few group pictures of his father's students, and a couple of a young and innocent looking Orochimaru alone. The photos brought back many memories of much happier times. He went through both albums slowly, treasuring the images and the moments they brought back to life.

When he got done looking through the photos he noticed one more piece of paper at the bottom of the safe. It looked like an official document. When he opened it he saw the words, 'Marriage Certificate' stamped across the top of it. He naturally assumed that this was a copy of the certificate for the marriage of his father and mother.

It wasn't.

He looked down to where the signatures were. His eyes opened wide and he actually gasped. "Oh father, what did you do?" He whispered.

XXXXXXXXXX

"Hey Hinata!" Sasuke came over and smiled wide at her.

"Oh, he… hello Sasuke," she answered as politely as she could.

"Are you excited about the fireworks?" He asked, his own excitement clear.

With a slight smile she nodded. "Su… sure."

"Do you want to watch them together?"

"If… if you like," she said. The truth was his attention was making her a little uncomfortable. But she had been instructed _very _clearly that she was not to do anything that might possibly offend the new Hokage.

So when Sasuke took her by the hand she resisted the urge to yank her hand away.

XXXXXXXXXX

Not too far away Fugaku and Hiashi were watching as Sasuke and Hinata stood there hand in hand.

"Don't they make a cute couple?" Fugaku asked.

"I suppose that they do," Hiashi said politely.

"Why don't you and your daughter join my family for dinner one night? I'm sure both our children would enjoy it."

Hiashi nodded courteously. "My daughter and I would be delighted."

Fugaku nodded, well pleased.

XXXXXXXXXX

Fugaku looked down upon the massive crowd in the plaza below. He called out with a booming voice. "From this day forward I shall guard and protect the village of Konoha! For I am the Godaime Hokage!" He placed the Hokage hat upon his head to a thunderous roar.

He stood there for a long moment basking in their cries of approval; it was a glorious moment and one he had long dreamed of. Finally he turned to face the people at the ceremony. His beloved wife stepped forward, her face aglow with love and pride. She bowed and offered him an elegant bow.

"Hokage-sama," Mikoto said in a voice trembling with feeling.

Sasuke bowed with a huge smile. "Hokage-sama!"

Hinata bowed beside him. "Hokage-sama," her toe proper and respectful.

"Hokage-sama," Hiashi bowed and spoke in a polite voice.

"Hokage-sama," Riyuki bowed to his brother.

"Hokage-sama," Hisa bowed to her uncle.

"Hokage-sama," Shikaku said and bowed with only a slight tremble despite all the alcohol.

"Hokage-sama," Inoichi said and bowed.

"Hokage-sama," Chouza said and bowed.

One by one every person on the Tower roof bowed and proclaimed him their Hokage, declaring their loyalty and recognizing his authority to rule. Now at last Fugaku truly felt his power was secure.

XXXXXXXXXX

Fireworks followed filling up the night sky. Fugaku remained at the Tower for another couple hours in order to speak not only to Council members but to important nobles and diplomats who had also come to attend the ceremony and wish him well.

When he at last returned home he was very tired, but there was still more to do. Mikoto took Sasuke to bed and then decided to turn in as well. Fugaku kissed her good night and promised to join her soon.

He and Riyuki went to his study where Fugaku shut the door and cast a security jutsu to temporarily seal the room.

"A glorious day for the Uchiha clan," Riyuki said happily.

Fugaku nodded his agreement and took off the hat, he left the robes on. "Yes, glorious, the first official day of my reign as Fifth Hokage. But there is a lot of work to do, starting tonight. Is Masaki still willing to volunteer for this mission?"

"He is," Riyuki said with a depressed look. "I hate to lose him though, he's a good man."

"I know he is brother," Fugaku said solemnly. "And I hate sacrificing clan members, but in this case his death will not be in vein. It will guarantee the security of the village from the Kyuubi's revenge."

Riyuki nodded. "I agree it is a worthy sacrifice."

"Yes, any man should feel honored for the chance to kill the Kyuubi's container. The sooner Uzumaki Naruto is dead the sooner the entire village will feel at peace."


	19. He started it

Rin was leaving the hospital following another endless shift. Jobi, the cute intern, had asked her out again. She had politely turned him down again. In frustration the poor boy had asked her what she didn't like about him. To her own consternation (and his even greater frustration) she hadn't been able to come up with a single thing. Jobi was cute, smart, nice, kind, dedicated, funny, and (best of all) completely into her. _So why do I keep turning him down? _She asked herself. "It's not like I have a boyfriend or anything," she grumbled.

Of course she knew the reason why she turned him and every other guy down. The fact was she was still hung up on her first crush. Even after _eight years _she still couldn't get over him. _I really need to get over that idiot, _she lectured herself_. It's called_ _**unrequited**__love for a reason. _Kakashi had not only left the village (and her) he actually been listed as a missing nin. That meant he could never come home. There was really no chance of their ever being together.

_That's it, _she decided. _I am over Kakashi! Tomorrow I am going to accept Jobi's offer and let him take me out to dinner. _Her declaration would have sounded much more convincing if she hadn't made it a dozen times before. _This time for sure!_

"Excuse me," a man called to her. "But are you Rin?"

She looked over to see a tall well built man with dark hair and a close cropped beard. He had a Chunin vest and leaf hitai-ite so he was obviously a ninja. She couldn't recall ever seeing his face before.

"Smoking is bad for you," she said automatically since he had a cigarette in his mouth.

With an amused smirk he took out the cigarette and tossed it to the pavement before stamping it out. "If you don't mind I'd like to talk to you for a bit."

"If you're going to try and ask me out I'm afraid I'm not interested."

"Guess I'm not as charming as I thought," he said with a slight chuckle. "Actually this has nothing to do with romance. I'm Sarutobi Asuma."

"Sarutobi?" She paused. "Are you related to the Third Hokage?"

He nodded. "I'm his son."

"Oh! I'm so sorry for your loss! I met the Hokage a few times through my sensei, I admired him very much."

"Well thank you, but I've had time to deal with things," he said. "Your sensei was the Yondaime, and you were teammates with Hatake Kakashi."

She nodded her head warily. "That's true, but why do you bring that up?"

"If I could arrange for you to go to Suna to see your old teammate what would you say?"

_See Kakashi?! _Just when she'd started to really think she was ready to give up. "Why would you want me to go see him?" She asked warily. Her sensei had always taught them to look underneath the underneath. She wanted to know what possible motivation there could be for anyone to send her to Suna just to see an old crush.

"Officially it will be a C-rank mission. You're just to try and convince Kakashi to return home. You won't be expected to convince him so you'll be paid whether the mission is a success or failure."

"If that's the official reason, what's the unofficial?" She asked warily.

"I'll give you something to deliver to Kushina. She may ask you to deliver something back to me as well."

"This thing you want me to deliver wouldn't be coated in poison or go, 'boom' when opened would it?"

"No, this is nothing like that. It really is just a transport mission disguised as something else. But if you accept you'll get the chance to see your old teammate and Kushina, and you even get paid. What do you say?"

A chance to see Kakashi, Kushina, and Tsunade again? And she would get to meet Kushina's son Naruto. The last time she'd seen him he was still a newborn. It was way too good an opportunity to pass up. "So long as there's nothing else involved I'd be happy to deliver your package for you."

"Great," he said and began to leave. "You should hear from me in the next few days."

As she started to head home again there was a wild swirl of thoughts filling her mind. But one outweighed all the others. _I wonder if Kakashi will be glad to see me?_

XXXXXXXXXX

"Hey shrimp!"

Naruto stopped and so did Gaara. This was one of the rare times the brothers were out without an adult tagging along. After a really good day of training Naruto had whined and pleaded and finally got his mom to let him and Gaara go out for a short time. Gaara hadn't really wanted to go but wanted to stay near his brother. For Gaara Naruto was not just a brother but his very best friend, he wanted to protect him and keep him safe.

As Kankuro and Temari approached the boy in the face paint and cat suit lost some of his swagger as he noticed Gaara standing there. Naruto couldn't understand why people were so afraid of him. He'd never seen _anything _from Gaara that was even a little threatening. But people still gave him a wide berth and looked at him nervously. For his part Gaara put on a mask when he went out in public. He never smiled or laughed, his expression ranged from serious to dire, and he was _always _serious.

Kankuro hesitated at seeing Gaara but then turned his focus back to Naruto. "Hey shrimp, I've got something to show you."

"What is it clown?" Naruto asked. He noticed Temari standing behind her obnoxious brother. She was smiling at him a little bit otherwise not really acknowledging him. He'd noticed her behavior had changed some after Hinata's visit. For awhile Temari had deliberately refused to talk to him. It was as though she were mad at him, but Naruto couldn't think of a single reason why that could be. Things had improved some with time, but she didn't talk to him the way she used to. Strangely Naruto sort of missed it.

Kankuro proudly slung something off his back which was covered in wrappings. "I finally got a _real _combat puppet! It's not like the regular puppets I've been training with. This is Usagi!"

Kankuro pulled off the wrappings to reveal a wooden puppet about four feet tall with metal fangs and claws and painted red eyes.

Naruto took one look and doubled over in laughter.

"What's so damn funny?" Kankuro demanded.

Naruto tried to answer but couldn't stop laughing.

Behind him Temari sighed. "Kankuro what were you expecting? It's a rabbit."

And it was. Usagi was a combat puppet but one mainly designed to be used for training. It was indeed in the form of a rabbit even though the metal claws and fangs were quite real and potentially lethal.

"So what?" Kankuro demanded angrily. "It's still a combat puppet!"

Having regained some composure Naruto stood up and wiped the tears from his eyes. "What's it going to do? Bite my ass? Ooh, scary!"

"Shut up!" He roared absolutely furious. "If we fought I'd slaughter you!"

"Clown you couldn't even beat me in your dreams."

"You think so? Let's have a match, right now me and you!"

"O.k.," Naruto replied.

Both Temari and Gaara looked worried.

"Kankuro this isn't a good idea," Temari cautioned. "You know the Kazekage will be angry if you hurt him!"

"Don't worry," Kankuro said. "I'll just beat him and show him who's tougher, I won't hurt the little shrimp."

"Naruto," Gaara said in a wary tone. "Mother will be very angry if she finds out about this."

"Then we better not tell her, right Gaara?"

Gaara looked very unhappy but did not reply.

Naruto turned to look at Kankuro and his ridiculous puppet. "There's a vacant lot just a couple blocks from here. Let's fight there."

"Fine by me."

Temari trudged behind her brother. Of all of them she was the only one with a hitai-ite, the only real ninja. She had a large fan on her back that weighed over forty pounds and that she was still mastering. She suspected this little spar would not end well for Kankuro; her brother had yet to learn to respect his opponents. (Except for Gaara.) She looked over to the cute blond who was walking beside Gaara. _I can't believe he's already betrothed! A girl should at least get a chance! _Even though he was younger than she was she thought he was absolutely the cutest thing in the world. And where her brother's big talk always annoyed her she thought of Naruto's words as honest confidence rather than arrogance. She'd noted that he usually never bothered to try and impress people. He had enough confidence in himself not to feel the need.

XXXXXXXXXX

In the vacant lot Kankuro and Naruto stood about fifteen yards apart with both Temari and Gaara standing on the sidelines and out of harms way.

"Hey Clown," Naruto called with an innocent grin. "Want to make this interesting?" All his time with his godmother had taught him about bets and about odds. She always said that the game was always more exciting when there was something at stake.

Kankuro looked at him suspiciously. "What do you have in mind?"

"How about a little bet? If you can beat me I'll wear face make up just like yours for a whole month."

Kankuro smiled just picturing that. "What if you win?"

Naruto told him.

The terms were cruel and made him shudder, but he was sure he would win. "All right, you got a bet."

"Great," Naruto said happily.

"Idiot," Gaara muttered.

Temari glanced at him in surprise. "You don't think Naruto will win?"

Gaara turned an emotionless face to her. "I was talking about Kankuro."

Kankuro activated his chakra strings. They snapped out of each of his fingers and connected onto Usagi. The puppet came to life and dropped down onto all four legs and raised its head as though staring out at its opponent. "You ready?" Kankuro called out.

Naruto had recently gained the title of First Level Blade Master. However he did not pull out the sword resting on his back. Instead he took out a single kunai. Without bothering to enter any sort of stance he called back. "Ready!"

"Then let's do this!" He yelled out and sent usage bolting for its target. This was a basic design; there were no secret compartments or hidden weapons. But Kankuro had no doubts that with his ability he could take down the annoying shrimp.

With the kunai Naruto sliced open his palm. He then ran through some hand signs. "**Kuchiyose no Jutsu." **There was a large puff of smoke. When it cleared there was a six foot tall tan colored toad with brown spots sitting in front of Naruto. "Eat him Toge!"

Instantly a large tongue shot out of the desert toad's mouth. It struck the wooden rabbit dead center. Kankuro was powerless to keep his puppet from being yanked into the toad's gigantic mouth.

Crunch.

"Could use some salt," the large toad said as he continued to crush the puppet within his maw.

Naruto laughed. "I'll bring some next time, good job."

The toad nodded and vanished in a puff of smoke.

Kankuro was just standing there, too stunned to even curse or yell.

"Bet you didn't know a toad could eat a rabbit did you?" Naruto called.

XXXXXXXXXX

Naruto and Gaara got something to eat and had a good time out on their own. But as soon as they got back they were called into their mother's room. Apparently some civilians had seen the match and the story had gone through Suna like wildfire. Kushina had heard about it and was **not** amused.

"You are grounded for a month!" She told Naruto in a rare harsh tone. "And so are you Gaara for not trying to stop him."

Gaara simply nodded, accepting his punishment without complaint.

"But mom that's not fair! He started it!"

"Really? Well in that case it's o.k."

"It is?" Naruto said hopefully.

"NO!" She yelled at him actually scaring him a bit. "Is that your excuse? He started it? Tell me this did he attack you without warning?"

"No," he admitted.

"Then there is no excuse for what you did! Naruto after everything I and everyone else have taught you do you still not understand that battle, any battle, is serious business? You never fight unless you have a _real_ reason. And right now the _only _reason I will accept from you is if someone attacks you. Then you fight with everything you have. Fighting someone just to show them you're stronger is _not _a valid reason for a ninja to fight! And what's worse you actually used your summons! No one was supposed to know you could summon toads until you were a ninja on missions. Now it's common knowledge in this village. Was using a summons the only way to win?"

"Well, no."

"Then why did you use it?"

"Well, I, I thought it would be the coolest way to win."

She shut her eyes. "I think I'm going to have to keep Kakashi away from you, he's turning into a bad influence. There are no style points in real combat Naruto. There's only winning and losing, and losing usually means dying. No one cares how you win a fight. By using your summons the way you did you've given up an important advantage. Now every other ninja in this village will know you can summon toads, let's just hope the news doesn't go beyond the village or it could be a _serious_ problem." She decided not to tell Naruto that if Fugaku learned he could summon toads who would realize that Jiraiya had permitted him to sign the summoning contract.

Naruto hung his head. He hadn't even thought about that. All he'd thought about was how cool it would look to have Toge actually eat the Clown's puppet. "I'm sorry mom."

She reached down and touched his shoulder. "Naruto, I don't want you to be sorry, I want you to learn from this and never make this same mistake again. You need to _think _about the things you do. You're going to be a ninja son. And our line of work is just too unforgiving for us to make mistakes. Now, you and Gaara go to your room and think about what I said."

Naruto and Gaara went to the room they shared. "I'm sorry I got you in trouble," Naruto said.

"That's all right," Gaara replied without any hint of resentment. "I deserved it. Mother was right I should have stopped you."

Naruto sighed. "Well, at least one good thing came out of all this."

Gaara looked at him in surprise. He couldn't see any positives from the day's events. "What's that?"

XXXXXXXXXX

The next day Kankuro approached his sensei Baki. "Ah, sensei, I ah, lost Usagi."

Baki turned to him with a look of severe reproach. "What do you mean you lost your puppet? He was only issued to you yesterday." Looking at his student's face he frowned. "And why have you altered your war paint?

Rather than the usual complex design Kankuro had three stripes on each cheek. "Please don't ask me about that sensei." _This is going to be a long month._

**Author's Note: **Next chapter will be titled, 'Vendetta.'


	20. Vendetta

**Three Years Ago**

Kushina and uncle Saishu had returned to their house in River country while Shinzou was out collecting their payment.

"You know uncle I think I need a nice long bath, I feel dirty after today."

Saishu looked at her questioningly. "What we did today was no worse or better than what we normally do. Assassins can't be choosey about their targets."

"I know that," Kushina said. "But sometimes I wish we'd never decided to become assassins in the first place."

From out of the kitchen her little son came out looking at her. "What are assassins mommy?"

Kushina looked down at her boy with a bit of a start. He was looking at her with those big innocent eyes of his. She felt a sudden pang of guilt. She would have liked for her son to stay innocent forever. But that wasn't possible in the world of adults, much less in the world of shinobi. _He's already training; maybe it's time to explain how some things work._

She knelt down and patted her lap. "Come here Naru-kun."

Her son smiled and happily settled into her lap as she began to explain.

"Naruto, you understand that I, your uncle Shinzou, your grand uncle Saishu, Kakashi, Shizune, and your godmother Tsunade are all ninja right?"

He nodded his head. "All the grownups except for aunt Aoi." He had a big smile. "I'm going to be ninja too right?"

"That's right son, you'll be a ninja too some day. Ninja are all very special people because we can do things that other people can't, or that other people can't do nearly as well. Because of that ninja are always given the hardest jobs, and a lot of times those jobs include doing things that aren't really… nice."

"Like what?"

"Well for instance you know your godmother and Shizune are medic nins right? They specialize in repairing and healing the human body. Because they are ninja they can do things that ordinary doctors can't. That is how they make their living. Me, your uncle, grand uncle, and Kakashi do things to make a living too but none of us will ever be medic nins."

"So what do you do?" Naruto asked innocently.

"Well we do a lot of things, but what we do that makes the most money is kill people." She deliberately said those last words without hesitation or any special inflection. As though killing were the most normal thing in the world.

Naruto looked up at her with surprise and confusion. "You kill people mommy? But isn't killing bad?"

_You know son I sometimes wonder about that myself. _She couldn't share her doubts with him. He had to have absolute faith that what he did was right. It was not as though he had any choice in what he would become. Being heir to the Namikaze clan and having the Kyuubi in his belly he wasn't going to become a tailor. Reaching back over her shoulder she pulled out her katana, the same weapon that had sliced their target's head off not two hours ago.

"Naru-kun, what is this?"

"A katana!" he said proudly.

She nodded. "Yes, but what is it in more general terms?"

He looked confused. "General?"

"It's a sword," she said carefully. "And do you know what a sword is?"

"A… a weapon?"

"Well, yes, it certainly is. But at its most basic it is just a tool, a man made item to help with a specific task. At its heart a sword really no different than a hammer or a saw or a bucket. A hammer is made to drive in nails, a saw is made to cut wood and a bucket is made to hold water. Do you know what a sword is made for?"

"Fighting!" Naruto was sure that was right so he was really surprised when his mother shook her head.

"No, it can be used for that, and eventually you'll learn how to use it in that way, but fighting isn't what a sword is designed for. A sword is a tool made for one purpose, killing." Her son was looking up at her with big eyes. "Ninja can have many different missions and can have all sorts of skills. But for most of us our most valuable skill is that of killing. Assassins are people who specialize in killing either for pay or out of duty. Assassins specialize in using their abilities for killing the way medic nins use theirs for healing."

"But isn't killing bad mommy?"

"Not for us," she told him and slipped her sword back into its sheath. (Since the sword was not drawn for battle it did not have to taste blood before being sheathed.) "Ninja have a different morality; the rules that apply to ordinary people don't apply to us. We steal, we kill, we spy and we do so without any doubt or hesitation." _At least none we ever show. _"Ninja _do _have honor, but it's not an honor based on what we do, but why we do it."

"I don't understand."

"For us Naruto there is only one absolute good, and that is _loyalty. _We are loyal to our clan and family and should we serve a village we are loyal to the village. For ninja and especially for we Uzumaki there is only one unforgivable sin, and that is to **betray. **So long as you are faithful and loyal nothing that you do can stain your honor." She eyed him closely. "Do you understand Naru-kun?"

Naruto hesitant nodded. "I think so," he answered quietly.

She had taken away a little bit of his innocence. It was a first step toward becoming an adult and a ninja.

XXXXXXXXXX

**Present Day**

It was Shinzou's turn to do the training. He'd taken the boys out to the wastes to practice jutsus while a couple clones were back at the estate training the children at the academy. Surprisingly twenty three of the original children were still there and they had picked up seven more. Some of the older ones had already learned henge and were being taught bushins. Eventually he would have to start using a third kage bushin to bring out some of the children to the wastes. The Uzumaki children would continue to be taught separately in order to hide the extent of their abilities.

As he was training he spotted a figure approaching them.

"All right everybody stop!" He called out. "We have a visitor."

The boys halted immediately, they looked in the direction of Suna where the lone ninja was approaching. He had on a turban and the same tan and brown clothing most Suna nin wore. It was unusual, but not unheard of, for messengers to come out to groups who were training. _I wonder what this is about. _"Take a break and have some water." Shinzou walked out a bit to speak privately with the other ninja.

"I wonder what this is about," Naruto said as he drank some lukewarm water from his canteen.

"Probably nothing too important," Gaara said as he drank as well.

"Maybe we'll get to knock off early," Michio suggested hopefully.

"But we've hardly started!" Naruto complained. "I want to work more jutsus!"

Michio sent his cousin an annoyed look. It figured he'd want to keep working under the blazing sun. Naruto was easily the most passionate about training; _especially _jutsu training. Naruto couldn't seem to get enough and he _never _ran low on chakra either. Michio was still waiting to be taught the henge.

As the other ninja arrived Shinzou saw a scroll in his right hand. "I have a message for all teams from the Kazekage!" He held out the scroll.

Shinzou was reaching out to accept it when he felt killer intent.

What happened next happened in under two seconds. The Suna ninja dropped the scroll and stabbed with a kunai. Shinzou had let him get too close to completely avoid him and did the only thing he could, blocking the stab with his right arm. He knocked the strike off some but the enemy ninja was still able to drive his blade completely into Shinzou's chest.

For an instant the two of them locked gazes as one of them still gripped the handle while the other had the whole blade lodged in his chest.

With all his strength Shinzou grabbed the other ninja's arm to hold him in places and screamed. "BOYS! AMBUSH!!"

The other ninja slammed his free fist into Shinzou's jaw knocking him down and wrenching the bloody kunai back out.

The four boys heard Shinzou's cry and then saw him fall.

"DAD!" Michio screamed and yanked out his sword. Minori did the same.

Gaara looked at the man with a cold murderous fury and sent his sand racing for him.

Naruto threw down his canteen and began to run through hand signs. "**Kage Bushin no Jutsu!" **A hundred clones puffed into existence all around them. They all drew their swords and charged screaming.

XXXXXXXXXX

Kushina was in her room doing a little light reading when she heard some kind of commotion coming from outside. Curious she went to her window and looked out. Thirty students were standing around looking confused. She didn't see either of her brother's kage bushins anywhere.

"Where is your sensei?" She called down.

"We don't know," one of the students called back. "He just suddenly disappeared in puffs of smoke."

When she heard that the color drained from her face. She ran out of her room and down the stairs. "Aoi!" She shouted.

The woman looked out. "What? What is it?"

"Get on the phone right now and call the hospital, tell Tsunade something may have happened. Tell her to get to the wastes where the boys practice as fast as she can!" Kakashi and Saishu were both out of the village on missions.

"What do you mean?!" Aoi asked fearfully.

Kushina didn't take the time to answer. She performed a jutsu and vanished in a swirl of wind and fog.

XXXXXXXXXX

Masaki was amazed to see not only a small wave of sand coming for him but a hundred shadow clones as well. How were mere children able to use such techniques? Even with the Kyuubi Naruto shouldn't yet be this formidable. He'd assumed that once he killed the sensei killing Naruto and the others would be easy. He'd even started to think he might be able to escape. Seeing that sand and especially all those sword wielding clones he realized that surviving this wasn't likely. But that was all right, he'd gone in expecting this to be a one way mission any way. As long as he could take out the Kyuubi his life meant nothing.

He closed his eyes and leapt into the air just in time to avoid the sand. When he opened his eyes again he could see and predict the movements of his enemies. Unfortunately all the shadow clones had the same amount of chakra sow he couldn't pick out the original from all the copies. _I guess I'll just have to destroy them all. _He quickly began forming hand signs. "**Fire Style: Fenikkusu Hinote no Jutsu." **He opened up his mouth and spat out a couple dozen balls of flame with long fiery tails trailing behind them. As they struck the clones the balls burst and spread out a small wave of flame that took out any clones nearby. With a staccato series of pops the clones were quickly annihilated. One headed straight for the boy with the sand jutsu. He didn't try to run. As the ball of fire closed in a globe of sand surrounded him and shielded him from the detonation.

One of the boys with a sword tried to jump out of the way and avoided a direct hit. But when the fire splashed about it struck him and he was soon blazing away. The boy howled in wordless agony as he burned.

"Minori!" The other one who'd been waving a sword around ran over and pushed him down then began trying to beat out the flames with his own hands.

"You bastard!" One of the Naruto's screamed. "**I'm going to kill you!"**

And as he watched he saw red chakra start to pour out of _that_ Naruto.

"Looks like I've found the real one." Masaki landed about twenty yards away and quickly ran through hand signs even as Naruto was doing the same.

"**Soudai Hinotoma no Jutsu!" **Masaki cried out.

"**Subeta Kaze no Jutsu!" **Naruto shouted.

Out of Masaki's mouth came three huge boulders of solid fire. They began rolling towards Naruto searing the ground black where they touched. Looking with his sharingan Masaki saw the air in front of Naruto solidify and create ten curved blades. They would have been invisible to anyone who could not see chakra. The blades flew and sliced into the boulders neatly cutting them open like ripe fruit. As they were destroyed each one exploded with far greater force than the smaller balls had. Masaki was forced to leap back to avoid the blast. Even as he did so five blades of wind came out of the explosion aiming for him.

Seeing them and knowing where they were headed he turned, dodged, twisted, and somehow landed with only one small cut along his ribs. His good fortune though was at its end.

There was an inhuman roar and he could sense the monstrous chakra along with its evil taint. Running straight through the flames of his previous jutsu he saw Naruto coming for him. He was totally surrounded by red chakra; it was like a cloak in the shape of a fox. There was even a single tail. Naruto was running at him with a sword in both hands. His eyes had become red and slitted, his whisker marks had thickened, and he had grown fangs. He looked like the monster he was. As Naruto closed on him red yes stared hatefully into red eyes.

Masaki leapt back and tried to dodge, he had no time for anything else. He saw Naruto bring his sword down and brought up a kunai to block it. The sword was surrounded by the same red chakra that surrounded Naruto. When the sword touched his kunai it sliced clean through it as though it were paper. In the next second he felt searing pain as the sword cut into his shoulder and then kept going straight down into his chest and belly, cutting him almost in half. His throat filled with blood and he began to choke on it even as agony filled him.

_I'm dead, _he realized. _But I have you monster. Please die with me! _With all the strength he had left he poured chakra into the explosive notes that he had packed around his chest, causing a final huge explosion.

"Naruto!" Gaara cried and ran to him.

XXXXXXXXXX

When Kushina materialized on the field the fight was over. She looked out in horror at the scene before her. The air stank of smoke and blood and the sickening smell of burned meat.

"Naruto!" She cried out and looked about desperately.

"Mom! I'm here!"

She spotted him and Gaara, they both looked fine. Naruto's transformation had ended and he had reverted to normal. She saw they were kneeling over her brother who was unconscious. His body suit had been ripped open and a blood soaked bandage was on his chest. She ran to Shinzou's side and knelt down quickly performing a diagnostic jutsu. She was no medic nin but she could do a little thank to some lessons from Tsunade.

"He's alive mom," Naruto said quickly. He and Gaara had also been taught the diagnostic jutsu. They also knew basic first aid though they had no other medical jutsus.

To her vast relief she found that was true, though his condition was not good, he was going to need surgery. She performed a basic medical jutsu that closed the wound and halted the bleeding. That would buy him more time. That done she reached out and desperately hugged both of her sons. "Than kami you're all right!"

"We are both fine mother," Gaara said in his calm voice.

"Yeah mom we're both o.k.," Naruto said quietly.

"What about your cousins?" She asked.

Naruto turned his face away from her. When she saw that her heart sank. _Oh please no, please no._

It was Gaara who answered her. His voice calm and steady. "Michio is fine and unhurt, but I am afraid Minori is dead."

XXXXXXXXXX

She found the two brothers, her precious nephews. Michio was kneeling and had the blackened body of his little brother in his arms. He was rocking Minori back and forth as though comforting him. Michio was crying band calling his brother's name over and over. Kushina performed a diagnostic jutsu and confirmed it, Minori was dead.

She did the only thing she could then. She knelt down and took Michio into her arms and tried to comfort him.

Tsunade arrived only a minute after Kushina. She checked on Minori, and sadly stated there was nothing she could do. She then hurried to Shinzou and began emergency surgery. She was able to stabilize him and get him to the hospital.

XXXXXXXXXX

Saishu returned that night and was informed of what had occurred. He hurried to the hospital where everyone else was. Suna was shocked by the news of the attack just outside the village and at the pointless death of a young member of one of their clans. The ANBU were performing an investigation of the scene but little remained of the culprit so it was unlikely they would ever learn his identity.

Being stable Shinzou had spoken to the ANBU. He told him he had not recognized his attacker and had not known the reason for the attack. He assumed the target had been the Uzumaki clan in general or perhaps him specifically. Given their usual line of work the ANBU had already come to a similar conclusion given that Gaara had not seemed to be the target. They had been given no reason at all to suspect that Naruto had been the target. In Shinzou's hospital room Kushina, Saishu, Tsunade, Naruto, Gaara, and Michio were all present. Aoi was in the lobby grieving and trying to comfort little Miwa and explain to her that her brother was gone.

A security jutsu was cast and Naruto quietly brought Saishu up to speed. "We were attacked by an Uchiha."

Saishu grimaced, that was _very _bad news. "Are you absolutely sure Naruto?"

He nodded with certainty. "He had the sharingan, I've seen Kakashi-niisan's plenty of times, I know what it looks like. I have absolutely no doubt that it was an Uchiha that did this." Naruto looked a bit worried. "There's something else, when I was fighting him I had… I had a strange power filling my body. It was something I'd never felt before, it… kind of scared me."

The adults all shared a worried look.

"When we get home son I'm going to tell you _all _the secrets." She glanced at her other son. "For both you and Gaara."

Naruto looked at her and carefully nodded. He'd always wanted to know the secrets she'd kept from him. Now he wasn't so sure."

"Fugaku did this," Shinzou said with cold steel in his voice. "He killed my son." He sent a meaningful look to his sister and uncle. "He has to pay."

Kushina and Saishu both understood. "Tsunade, could you give us a few minutes alone please?" Kushina asked.

"What? Why" She asked.

"I'm sorry, but we need to discuss clan business."

"Hmph, fine, I'll wait outside. What about the children?"

Kushina looked at both of her sons. "Naruto and Gaara will both stay," she said quietly. She looked at her brother. "Shinzou, what about your children?"

Shinzou glanced at Michio. He was standing in the corner quiet as a mouse listening to them. "Michio stays, he has the right. Miwa is still too young."

Once Tsunade left Kushina looked at the three boys. "There is a very old tradition we Uzumaki hold. When someone has wronged us and that wrong must be avenged. We hold a sacred tradition called, 'Vendetta.' Vendetta has nothing to do with justice or honor; it is revenge pure and simple. To declare vendetta is to declare that you will do whatever it takes to avenge the wrong done to our clan. It is a sacred obligation that must _never_ be taken lightly. For once you swear the oath you can never be released from it. We will never abandon the Vendetta; we will follow it through the generations and even into the next life if we must. To swear Vendatta is to swear unending hatred and war, you must swear to give your life to complete it, if that is what is called for. Do you understand what a serious thing this is?"

The boys were staring up at her. One by one they all nodded.

"One of us was murdered," he said solemnly. "And the whole clan was attacked. The man who did this was Uchiha Fugaku, the Hokage of Konoha. He is our enemy and he will not be forgiven. If you swear Vendatta you swear before your clansman in blood that you will do whatever you must to avenge this attack and the murder of our beloved Minori. If you swear it must be of your own free will. If you do not wish to swear then do not, there is no shame in choosing not to and no one will think less of you."

With that said Kushina took out a kunai and deliberately sliced open her thumb and let the blood trickle down the blade. "I swear the death of Uchiha Fugaku Fifth Hokage of Konoha. From this life into the next I shall not rest until his blood is upon my blade." She handed the kunai to her brother.

He sliced open one of his fingers. "I swear to kill the murderer of my son, that bastard Fugaku. From this life into the next I shall not rest until his blood is upon my blade." He was going to hand the kunai to his uncle but Michio came forward and held out his hand.

"I want it," his eyes were alive. Those were the first words he'd spoken since coming to the hospital.

"Then take it my son," Shinzou quietly handed the blade over.

Michio slowly and deliberated placed his left hand around the sharp blade and made a fist. His blood dripped down the blade and handle to fall on the floor. "I will kill the man who killed my brother, Fugaku. From this life into the next I shall not rest until his blood is upon my blade."

He handed the blade to Naruto. He sliced open his palm. "I'm going to kill Fugaku. From this life into the next I shall not rest until his blood is upon my blade."

He gave the blade to Gaara. Gaara knew the sand would not allow him to wound himself. So he deliberately bit down on his lip until he tasted his salty blood. He brought the kunai to his mouth and touched it with his bloodied lip. "I will kill Fugaku. From this life into the next I shall not rest until his blood is upon my blade."

He gave the kunai to his grand uncle. He sliced open his thumb. "I will kill the man who caused this, Fugaku. From this life into the next I shall not rest until his blood is upon my blade."

Saishu returned the kunai back to Kushina.

With a rag she wiped it clean again. "We have sworn Vendatta."


	21. A scrap of paper

Never piss off the Uzumaki. They are quick to anger and damn slow to forgive.

- An old saying from Whirlpool.

A ninja can destroy someone with a lie. A clever ninja can destroy someone with the truth.

- Thirty fifth rule of shinobi conduct.

XXXXXXXXXX

The funeral services were held at sunset.

The entire family as well as Tsunade and Kakashi came dressed in their black mourning clothes. They each placed a single flower down before the small casket. The Kazekage and his children came as well. He was dressed in his robes with a veil across his face. He offered Kushina few words of commiseration for her loss and the loss of her clan.

Temari went over to Naruto and hugged him fiercely, all the while telling him how very sorry she was. Each of the other eight clan heads came to the service bearing a white flower and offering words of sympathy and condolence.

That had been expected. What took everyone by surprise was the vast mob of ordinary citizens who came wanting to honor the young boy none of them had really known. When the Uzumaki had first come to Suna and been made a clan most of the people felt a general resentment towards them. They were foreigners who had been given privileges they did not deserve. When they found out they had been given charge of Gaara, and saw he was more stable than he had been they came to grudgingly accept them. They were performing the important and dangerous task of leashing the Shukaku.

When Kushina opened a school on her estate and began giving the poor an opportunity to become ninja people began to look more positively on the Uzumaki and thinking that, perhaps, their presence might be a good thing.

But it was the death of Minori that convinced most of the population that the Uzumaki were truly of Suna. The attack had happened right outside the village. The natural tendency was to see it as an attack on Suna itself, one that had been defeated, but at a cost. To the common people of Suna Uzumaki Minori had died defending their village. His sacrifice convinced nearly everyone that the Uzumaki were truly part of them.

As Kushina saw a line of a few thousand snake past, leaving flowers and speaking quick words of sorrow or offering respectful nods or even bows, she took some very slight satisfaction in it. Nothing could keep this from being a black day, but she was at least glad that the people of Suna honored her nephew's sacrifice.

When the last mourner had gone it was time. Slowly, gently, the coffin was lowered into the earth. Gaara had sand fill in the plot. Aoi wailed and had to be helped back to the house by Shinzou. Miwa began crying. Kushina picked the little girl up and carried her home.

XXXXXXXXXX

Once they were home Kushina went up to her bedroom. In front of her mirror she took out a kunai and sliced off her shoulder length hair. She, Aoi, and Miwa would all wear their hair short for a year as a sign of mourning.

Naruto was lying on his bed and Gaara was looking out the window of their room. It was already night. There was a sudden knock at the door before it pushed open. Naruto and Gaara both looked to see Michio standing there. He was already out of his mourning clothes and had the red and black battle suit back on.

"Hey Naruto, I want to practice the sword, come work with me."

Naruto sat up in his bed. "Since when do you want to do extra training?"

"Since we swore that oath," Michio answered quietly. "Now come on."

Wearily Naruto nodded and got up. "Give me a couple minutes to change."

XXXXXXXXXX

When Kushina heard the rapid series of, 'clacks' from wooden practice swords striking each other she went to her window to look outside. In the dim light she was able to make out Naruto and Michio going hard at one another. Naruto was already a First Level Master while Michio was only competent with the sword. Naruto was giving him some rough lessons on how to try and counter Camellia style relying on Sunflower. Kushina looked about wondering why her brother would want them training now of all times.

When she didn't see any sign of Shinzou or any other adult she understood the boys had decided to do this on their own. That pleased her and saddened her at the same time. It was one more sign that childhood was being lost and that they were slowly entering the world of adults. I'm going to have to work them even harder now. It was not as though they hadn't been getting a lot of training before. But after this assassination attempt they would have to expect more, the boys all had to be able to defend themselves from any possible attack.

She had already decided that the three of them would take the Genin test at the same time. They would be a team. And not just any team, she intended to make them the most lethal ninja Suna had ever seen.

XXXXXXXXXX

Dear Hinata-chan,

I wanted to write this to you before you heard any rumors. Me and my family were attacked while training. It was one ninja, we don't know who he was or why he attacked us. My uncle was stabbed in the chest but is o.k. But my cousin Minori died. Me, Gaara, and Michio are all o.k. I killed the ninja. I don't want to write any more about it.

I hope you're o.k. Hinata. Please stay safe.

Naruto

"Oh no," Hinata whispered. She looked at the slug who had delivered the message. "Is Naruto-kun really all right? He wasn't hurt was he?"

"He was unharmed and is well Lady Hinata," Katsuyu said.

"I hope this isn't a bother, but I wasn't expecting you today, could you please wait one hour before going back?"

"If that is your wish."

Hinata hurried out of her room and called a servant, a cadet branch member, and asked her to go out and get something for her. Hinata hurried down to the kitchen and checked the shelves. Oh good I have everything I need.

XXXXXXXXXX

An hour later Katsuyu reappeared in Naruto's room.

Dear Naruto-kun,

I am so terribly sorry for your loss. I only met your cousin for a moment and didn't really know him, but I am sure you were close. Please enjoy the cookies I have sent to you and please place the flower on his grave if it is not too much trouble. I remember how much it hurt when I lost kaasan, so I know you must be hurting. I wish I were there so I could comfort you, but if it helps at all please know that my heart hurts for you Naruto-kun.

Hinata

Naruto looked at the flower that had been in the mail pouch. He then looked at the cookies, they were still warm.

"You really are the best Hinata-chan," he said quietly.

He then got up to find Michio and share his cookies.

XXXXXXXXXX

The correspondence Hinata shared with Naruto was a carefully guarded secret known only to her and her father. So it was a couple days later that Fugaku finally learned of the misfired attempt.

"So someone tried to kill Naruto?" Fugaku said. He displayed only mild surprise. Naruto had many enemies, both because of parentage as well as what was hidden inside his belly. So long as no one knew who the assailant was there was no reason why he would be suspected.

"That's likely," Jiraiya said. "But not absolutely certain. The attack might have been against the Uzumaki clan in general or even aimed at Uzumaki Shinzou. Since the attacker blew himself up there's really no way to know." Konoha had only a couple spies in Suna, and they both sent their reports to Konha's spymaster, Jiraiya. Thanks to this certain rumors about Naruto being able to summon toads (idiot kid!) never made it to Konoha. Jiraiya had no reason to imagine that Fugaku was behind the attempt and so shared with him everything his agents knew, which was damn little. "I'd like to go pay the Uzumaki's a visit."

Fugaku looked at him instantly suspicious. "Why?"

"I'd like to build up some good will and maybe convince Kushina that she and her son would be safer in Konoha."

"Is that the real reason?" Fugaku asked. "Or are you growing fond on your sensei's bastard?"

Jiraiya did not like that last comment but refused to let it show. He merely smiled with his usual trademark good nature. "Don't you think it's worth a little effort to try and stay on Naruto's good side? Not to mention Kushina's and Tsunade's." Kakashi was a very sore point so Jiraiya didn't mention him.

Fugaku sent the Sannin a hooded look. He wondered how Jiraiya would react to a request to kill the Kyuubi. It was a tempting thought, but Fugaku rejected it immediately. Jiraiya never spoke of his feelings about Naruto. But Fugaku had noted that he never joined in when others disparaged him. Fugaku suspected the old ninja saw Naruto more as his late student's son than as a monster.

Still, Jiraiya did have a point; it would look good to have him pay a visit expressing Konoha's concern for, 'dear' Naruto's safety. He also wanted to keep Jiraiya somewhat happy, losing the allegiance of one Sannin was bad enough, losing two would badly damage his reputation.

"Fine, go to Suna and express our concern. Tell Kushina if she will… permit him to come here I'll provide him with a large home and guarantee his safety."

"The only way she would even consider that is if the, 'large home' is the Namikaze mansion."

"That is out of the question, and if she brings it up tell her that exactly." Fugaku thought for a moment. "Oh, and as long as you're going there's a little mission Sarutobi Asuma has requested. I suppose I'll kill two birds with one stone."

XXXXXXXXXX

The Next Day

"Rin! It's been years! You've turned into a beautiful woman!" He spread out his arms and approached her. "Give me a hug!"

She only just managed to duck aside and avoid him.

"Hey! What was that?" Jiraiya sounded very disappointed.

"Sorry Jiraiya, but I'd rather not have you feel me up." Rin said politely.

He gave the young woman a deeply hurt look. "Rin, how could you think that of me?"

"I read one of your books," she told him.

That instantly delighted him. "Oh, ho! So you're a fan!"

"Not exactly," she said. "I lost a bet with one of my girlfriends and the penalty was to read a section of it aloud. Needless to say I know what a pervert you are. Geez, you knew me when I was a child. How can you look at me that way?"

He sniffed and held his head proudly. "I am a man who appreciated the beauty of the feminine form where ever I find it without bias."

"Fine, but don't try anything with me or I will tell Tsunade about it."

The threat had its desired effect. Jiraiya paled a bit and quickly nodded. "I'm deeply disappointed Rin, it hurts me that you don't appreciate my skills as an author the way Kakashi does."

"Kakashi? What are you talking about? He's the most moral person I know! He would never read your disgusting pornography!"

Jiraiya doubled over and began laughing.

XXXXXXXXXX

They arrived in Suna three days later. When they came to the Uzumaki compound they were both surprised by the cold reception Kushina and the others gave them.

"Before I'll let you enter my home you'll both have to agree to a thorough search. I won't allow any weapons or explosive notes to be brought into my home."

Rin felt deeply hurt at the obvious mistrust. "Kushina, do you really think I would ever do anything to hurt you or Naruto?"

"I'm sorry Rin," Kushina told her. "But after what happened to my nephew I'm afraid I'm very low on trust right now. Especially for anyone from Konoha."

"There's no reason for you to think Konoha had anything to do with the attack," Jiraiya said.

She looked at him very closely. "I also have no reason to not suspect Konoha. They don't love my son."

"Please don't take it personally Rin," Kakashi said with a hidden smile. "After what happened you can't blame us for being cautious even with people we know are friends."

She frowned but slowly nodded. "I guess I can understand that."

Jiraiya took a step forwards and submissively held out his hands. "I will agree to a strip search, please be gentle with me Kushina."

Saishu came forward and took a hold of his arm. "I'll be the one to search you pervert."

"Nooooooooooo!" Jiraiya wailed as he was led away.

"Come with me Rin," Kushina led her in the opposite direction. "I am sorry about this and I really don't believe you're here to attack us again. But I'm not willing to take any chances."

"I understand, really, oh and by the way this is for you." She took out a small package and handed it over.

Kushina took it and opened it. (She was actually a shadow clone.) Inside were two pieces of paper. One was a document and the other a hand written letter.

A Marriage Certificate? Why would anyone send one of these to me? Then saw whose it was. She came to a halt and gasped.

"Kushina? Is there something wrong?"

Kushina quickly stuffed both papers back into the manila envelope. "No, nothing."

XXXXXXXXXX

Once both Jiraiya and Rin were searched they were invited into the house and asked to wait while Aoi entertained them. The other adults met in Kushina's room.

"Another secret meeting?" Naruto sounded annoyed.

"It would appear so," Gaara replied.

"You know given the secrets we both know now it makes you wonder why they bother keeping anything else secret from us."

Gaara considered that. "You have a point."

XXXXXXXXXX

Flashback

"So that's where the power came from Naruto. And Gaara that's where your ability with sand comes from," Kushina stated. She had just explained to both boys the truth about their seals and about what they really were. Both her sons were silent and looking up at her as they pondered what she'd told them.

"I'd started to suspect something like this," Gaara said carefully. "When the voice would talk to me it would scream about being a prisoner and about wanting to be let out. Sometimes I would get the mental picture of a huge raccoon made of sand."

"Are you all right with this Gaara-kun?" She asked.

"Do all the adults who live here know?"

"Yes we do," she said.

"In that case I am fine," Gaara answered calmly. "I finally know why so many others look at me with those cold unfeeling eyes. But so long as the people who are my family and precious friends understand it I can accept it."

"Good, I'm glad," she turned to look at her other son. "What about you Naruto?"

"Mom, let me see if I really get the situation. Inside me is the most powerful force known to all mankind and it was placed in me by my father the Fourth Hokage. A power that I'll be able to use and control. Is that right?"

She slowly nodded. "Yes, that is right."

Naruto began to tremble a bit. "That is… that is… so… AWESOME!!" He pumped a fist in the air and began to dance around a bit. "I am going to be the most awesome and powerful ninja EVER!!"

Kushina blinked. She hadn't been expecting this reaction. "So you're not upset?"

"Why would I be?" He asked her. "I just found out I'm going to have an amazing amount of power. Besides, if this were something bad you'd be upset. If you're o.k. with it then it must be all right."

So to her very great surprise both her children accepted they were jinchuuriki without any great complaint; because they both felt loved and accepted by the people around them.

XXXXXXXXXX

Inside Kushina's room they passed around the certificate along with the personal letter from Asuma. In the letter Asuma declared that he felt his father had wronged Kushina her son and the Yondaime. As the Sarutobi clan head Asuma acknowledged a responsibility to set things right. He had sent the certificate to her and was ready to support her in any way she desired, including bringing this evidence before the Council.

Kushina held the certificate in her hands and stared at Minato's signature. "A scrap of paper," she said. "That's all this is, just a scrap of paper with some ink on it, but it could change everything."

"What do you want to do?' Saishu asked.

She looked over at him. She knew exactly what she wanted to do.


	22. A modest proposal

"Are you _sure _you want to do this sister?" Shinzou asked.

Kushina nodded decisively. "Naruto has been subject to one assassination attempt already. That means we'll have to expect more of them in the future. If he is going to suffer the consequences of being who and what he is he may as well enjoy some of the benefits as well."

"Do you think this will actually work?" Saishu asked.

"Probably not," Kushina admitted. "In the end the Hokage can do just about anything he wants no matter what the Council or people say. But if this weakens his position and strengthens ours it's definitely worth doing!"

Tsunade grinned and rubbed her hands together. "I would _love _to be in the Council meeting when all this happens."

Kakashi giggled. "It'll certainly be memorable."

XXXXXXXXXX

Following the meeting they went out to meet and talk to their guests. It had already been decided they would not talk about the identity of the attacker being an Uchiha or that Naruto was the target.

Kakashi went over to Rin and they shared a quiet conversation. They then quickly headed upstairs to his room.

Jiraiya watched them go consumed by jealousy. "Kakashi's about to get some."

"Get some what?" Naruto asked.

Jiraiya looked at his godson with a huge perverted smile. "Why some pus…"

He felt a murderous killer intent and saw Kushina with her sword half out.

"Ah, he's going to get some, ah pus… itive feedback from his old teammate."

Naruto looked confused. "Huh?"

"Naruto-kun honey," His mother called out. "How would you like me to make you some of my special ramen?"

"Yeah, ramen!"

Kushina was glad that she knew how to distract him.

XXXXXXXXXX

"You have no idea how happy what you said made me Rin! Hearing those words from you fill me with excitement and raw joy!" Kakashi told her.

"Re… really? That's uhm very surprising. I wasn't expecting such a strong reaction to me saying three little words." She was feeling more than a little nervous. Not only was she alone with Kakashi in his room she was actually sitting on his bed.

He looked at her with his one visible eye and with a smile hidden beneath that mask of his. "But I never thought I'd actually hear you say them to me. It's like a dream come true!"

"You've dreamt of me saying _that _to you?" She said dully.

"Yes I have, I've had lots of dreams about you Rin." He gave her a considering look and his voice dropped a bit. "A lot of _interesting _dreams."

She could feel her entire face start to turn red. She could feel her heart start to pound.

"Say it again."

She looked down with her face on fire. "Ah, it's embarrassing."

"Please Rin, it's just us," he reached out and took her hands into his own. "I want to hear you say it again."

She looked up into his face. "You really want me to say those words don't you?"

"Yes, please?"

"Fine," she took a deep breath and repeated the words that so excited him. "I love porn."

Kakashi began to giggle.

_I've spent the last eight years waiting for this?! _She thought with an inward groan.

XXXXXXXXXX

"Here, this is for you kid." Jiraiya handed Naruto a large scroll as he sat at the table finishing his ramen. "I made this especially for you so you'd better not lose it."

Naruto took the large scroll eagerly. "What is it?"

"It's a jutsu scroll containing a large number of some of my prized techniques. Since I don't know how much time I'll be able to spend actually training you I wanted to give you this. Even if I'm not around you can at least try and learn from this. Now since I'm going to be here for just a few days I want to spend all that time working with you. I'm going to teach you an A-rank attack jutsu that was created my prized student the Yondaime. It's called the rasengan."

Naruto looked at him consideringly. "Hey ero-sennin, let me ask you something."

"Don't call me that kid."

"Why not? You're a pervert and a sage, right?"

Jiraiya grumbled before answering. "What did you want to ask?"

"If it came down to it, whose side would you choose? Ours or Fugaku's?"

"Did your mother tell you to ask me that?"

"No," Naruto said. "I'm asking because I want to know. What if it turned out that the attack was directed against me and was ordered by the Hokage? What would you do then?"

Jiraiya frowned and answered slowly and seriously. "I'm not sure kid."

Naruto looked unhappy with the reply. "My mom says that for ninja there is only one absolute virtue, and that's loyalty. She says there is only one unforgivable crime, and that's betrayal. Don't you feel that way too?"

"The world isn't always that simple Naruto! Like it or not it's damn complicated some times." He sat down across from his godson. "You ask me about loyalty. Loyalty to whom? To my Hokage and my village? To my friends? To my student and his family? You speak of betrayal. The Hokage does not want me helping you in any way. So the scroll I gave you could be seen as an act of betrayal. Do you think less of me for giving it to you or offering to help you?"

Naruto tilted his head a bit and looked at him with a curious expression. "Well that would depend I guess. If your real loyalty is to me and my clan, there's nothing wrong with it. _But _if your ultimate loyalty is to Fugaku anything that you do to help me might just be a trick designed to win my trust. So that you can more easily betray me later."

Jiraiya looked at the eight years old feeling slightly impressed. "You see underneath the underneath," he said. "That's true Naruto. Such a thing is _definitely _possible among ninja. Ultimately you'll have to decide for yourself if and how far you are willing to trust me."

Standing just outside the kitchen Kushina was performing some protective surveillance. She heard the conversation. She wondered just how far her husband's sensei could be trusted.

XXXXXXXXXX

Rin could feel her eye twitching violently and a vein in her forehead bulging. Spread out before her was a _vast _collection of porn. Not only those little orange books of Jiraiya, but tiny illustrated instruction manuals, and dirty magazines. He'd taken them out of a hidden compartment in his closet and spread them out all over his bed.

"Well what do you think of my collection?" Kakashi asked proudly. "I have to keep it hidden of course. Kushina would go ballistic if she knew and Tsunade wouldn't be happy about it either."

Rin sloooooowly turned to him.

"Ah Rin?" Kakashi was suddenly feeling a bit nervous.

"You couldn't find the time to write me even one letter in the past eight years but you managed to find the time to read all this pornography and have _interesting _dreams about me?" She took a step towards him.

"Ah, well about that, I meant to write you, but the post office was always out of stamps." He took a nervous step back.

"Is that supposed to be funny?" She demanded. "Do you have any idea how many dates and how many cute guys I have turned down because I kept thinking about you?"

"Uh… you have?"

"I have been thinking about you ever since you left to go with Kushina and Tsunade. I've worried about you and wondered if you were all right. I've dreamed of the day you would come home again so that I could finally be with you. I cherished the thought that I would get to see you and tell you how I've missed you."

Kakashi was stunned and deeply touched to hear such tender words from her. "Rin-chan, I…"

"And the whole time I've been having these pure thoughts about you you've been reading PORN! You know Kakashi what you told me that one time really was true, you really are nothing but trash!"

"Rin let me explain!" He tried to reach out and take her shoulder. Unfortunately she stepped forward at that same moment and his hands instead made contact with her breast. "Ah! Rin, I'm sorry, I…"

"PERVERT!!" And with surprising strength sweet little Rin decked the legendary copy ninja, leaving him unconscious.

XXXXXXXXXX

Saishu looked up. "Do you smell smoke?"

Shinzou nodded. "I think it's coming from upstairs."

The two of them got up top Kakashi's room as Rin was storming out. Looking inside they saw Kakashi unconscious on the floor. There was a fire going in a small trash can that was filling the room with greasy black smoke.

"What the hell do you think he said to her?" Saishu asked.

"I don't know," Shinzou replied. "Maybe he told her about those twins in Kiyma that one time."

"Or the mother and daughter in Hanschou."

"Right, or maybe he talked about that night in the strip club in Hoyama."

Rin could hear every word. She slapped her hands over her hears. _La, la, la, I am not hearing this!!_

XXXXXXXXXX

After a few days it was time for Jiraiya and Rin to depart. Kakashi had tried desperately to talk to his former teammate and apologize to her. But she had refused to speak with him. Before they left Kushina gave Rin a package and asked her to deliver it to Asuma.

When she returned she delivered the package as requested. She then went down to the hospital to ask Jobi out on a date.

XXXXXXXXXX

When Asuma got the package he opened it and read the letter from Kushina and her request.

XXXXXXXXXX

As Fugaku waited for the monthly Council meeting to draw to a close he thought about the current situation. Naruto's survival was a definite set back. No doubt the Uzumaki would have a heightened alert from this point on. He was not about to give up the idea of killing the Kyuubi, that remained a high priority. But he would have to wait for now. And he would **not **be using another clan member. The one positive of the failed mission was that no one suspected he had been its author. In the future he would use foreign or rogue ninja and act through an intermediary. He could not be seen to openly attack Naruto. The fact he was part of a foreign clan made that dangerous.

Not for the first time he cursed the old Hokage's memory. If Sarutobi had only had the iron to do what was required none of this would be necessary now. Among the other inconveniences caused by the failed assassination was the issue of Hyuuga Hinata. He'd fully intended to suggest a betrothal between Sasuke and Hinata after a little time had passed following Naruto's death. Naruto's survival complicated things.

The Hokage had no authority over the internal workings of the clans. That specifically included betrothals and marriages. He could not order Hiashi to cancel the marriage contract with the Uzumaki, any more than he could force him to agree to one with him. Whenever he thought of the Kyuubi's power joined to Hyuuga's he became nervous. That contract needed to be dissolved. But it had to be done carefully.

If all that weren't enough Tsunade and that damn Kakashi were causing problems as well. Recently Lord Kazumori, one of the richest men in Fire country, had traveled to _Suna _for medical treatment specifically so he could be treated by Tsunade. Kazumori spent millions of ninja every year, and he'd been heard to say he intended to start sending some of his business to Suna. The fact Tsunade was now a Sand nin definitely hurt the prestige of both himself and his village.

Kakashi's exploits hurt even more. The mere fact he received so many high priced assignments from all over the world while being a missing nin was humiliating. Missing nins were _supposed _to live in the shadows, fearing for their lives every moment. Kaksahi made no secret of where he was or what jobs he took. It was the equivalent of standing up and proclaiming, 'Konoha wants me dead, so what?' He had taken out a dozen hunter nins that had been sent after him. Five he killed the other seven he left hurt but alive. And each time he took their masks for trophies. The situation was absolutely shameful.

He would have to something about it.

"If there is no more new business, I would say we are about done." Koharu stated. The Hokage preferred to sit back and allow her to actually run the meetings.

"Actually I have something," Asuma spoke. He took out a stack of envelopes and began tossing them out to the other Council members and the Hokage.

Fugaku took the envelope sent his way and began opening it. This was the first Council meeting the Sarutobi clan head had actually attended. The Hokage hadn't expected him to actually have a proposal with him. "What is this?"

"Just a copy of a document I found in my home," Asuma replied.

"Fuck!" Nara Shikaku suddenly shouted. He was staring wide eyed at the document. "Is this real?!"

"Yes, I personally will vouch for the authenticity of this document."

His interest now peaked he pulled out the paper. Across the top of it was, 'Marriage Certificate.' When Fugaku saw the names at the bottom he gasped. How could something like this exist?

Asuma spoke in a calm certain voice. "I am formally proposing that the union and marriage between Namikaze Minato and Uzumaki Kushina be legally recognized and the Namikaze fortune and estates be restored, with Kushina as clan head and Naruto as heir. What is more I have a letter from Kushina bearing her signature and clan seal. She states that if these terms are refused she will go before the Kazekage and formally request permission to reestablish the Namikaze clan in Suna."


	23. The Tenth House

The people at the Council table were all having strong reactions to the document that had been put in front of them.

For Fugaku the main reaction was simple disbelief. Yet again he found himself damning the old Hokage. Why, why, why had he kept such a poisonous document?! Obviously Sarutobi had made the right decision not to make the marriage public. What would it have done to the population to know the Yondaime's heir would have to be sacrificed along with the Namikaze name? But having made one _good _decision Sarutobi had again proved he lacked the necessary strength of will by _not _destroying the evidence. He almost felt as if Sarutobi's ghost were mocking him as he again had to deal with a crisis bequeathed to him by his predecessor.

For Shikaku the main feeling was also disbelief and shock. Though his reaction did not exactly mirror Fugaku's. _For nothing, _Shikaku thought, _all the grief and all the fear we've had about Naruto and what might happen one day. And it turns out he should have been living here in the mansion the whole time! _He remembered the chaotic days immediately following the Kyuubi's attack. People had been in a state of mourning over the loss of their beloved Hokage and the losses of so many others. They had also been in a state of panic. People were afraid and _wanted_ someone to suffer for what had been taken from them. And fair or not the Kyuubi's container had made the most convenient and logical target. Would Naruto have even lived if he'd been in the village any longer? Would the populace have been more willing to forgive if they'd known he was the last son of the Namikaze line? He honestly didn't know. What he did know was that Sarutobi and the village had committed a terrible wrong by denying Kushina and her son what was rightfully theirs. _We have to make this right._

Hiashi was staring at the paper. He was recalling the Kushina's words. She'd asked him if he'd have offered Hinata as a bride to her son.

"_Would you have done it if Minato-kun and I had, had a marriage ceremony? Would you have done this then?"_

And he'd answered. "_If you were the Namikaze clan head and Naruto were recognized as heir, yes."_

"_Well… nice to know one little ceremony and a few stamped pieces of paper make all the difference."_

"_Whether you like it or not Kushina the difference between wife and mistress and between legitimate and illegitimate __does__ matter."_

"_Oh I know," she assured him. "Believe me I know."_

He shut his eyes and bowed his head in shame. _Oh Minato! My dearest friend forgive me! I let them cast out your wife and son, I let the name of your ancestors be extinguished! _He'd supported Sarutobi in saving Naruto's life and seeing to it that he would not be snatched away by the ANBU and turned into a mindless weapon. But he felt that was all he could do without risking his clan's prestige. He hadn't been willing to associate himself with the Kyuubi in any way. So he'd stood by silently as Kushina and Naruto left the village. He'd known how deeply his friend had loved her, and how much he'd wanted the child. He'd known Minato would have wanted them to be given his fortune. But he'd remained silent, consoled by the fact that even if it had been Minato's wish Kushina and her son had no _legal _right to any of it. But now it seemed they had. _I have dishonored your memory Minato, but I swear I will make up for it now. From this moment on I and my clan will do everything in our power to restore your son to his rightful place!_

Hiashi rose to his feet and slammed his hands on the table. The unusual outburst from the normally stoic Hiashi got him everyone's attention. "I second Asuma's motion. Let us speak of how we will give the Namikaze clan back what is rightfully theirs."

Fugaku looked furiously at Hiashi. It seemed his efforts to win the man over had all been in vain. He was also disheartened by all the nods his words received up and down the table. From their reactions it seemed clear that Asuma, Hiashi, Shikaku, Inoichi, Chouza, and even Shibi were in favor of this. If six of the thirteen members already favored restoration then he was certain to lose any vote. There were thirteen Council members present; surely at least one more would side with them. He had to prevent it from coming to a vote. He had taken the Namikaze fortunes and earmarked them for construction projects that would help the village infrastructure and win him

popular approval. He had seized the mansion and made it the new Military Police headquarters. Those actions had greatly increased his own personal prestige in the clan and in the village. He would _not _suffer the humiliation of having to reverse himself. And he would _never _allow the Kyuubi to return to Konoha to begin plotting with the Hyuuga.

"Is this all some sort of joke?" Fugaku asked contemptuously. "You expect us to seriously debate this _obvious _fabrication?" He slowly and deliberately ripped his copy of the certificate up.

"Are you calling me a liar Fugaku?" Asuma asked dangerously.

Ignoring the tone the Hokage smiled condescendingly at the Sarutobi clan head. "I am calling you hopelessly naive, you find some piece of paper in your father's office and you think that alone proves it is genuine? Where is the original? We'll have the ANBU confirm its authenticity."

_Why do I suspect that if the original were given to the ANBU it would mysteriously vanish? After being declared a forgery of course. _"The original was sent to Kushina," Asuma replied.

"You sent a classified document to a ninja in a foreign village?" Fugaku asked menacingly.

"No," Asuma replied. "I sent a woman a copy of her marriage certificate that my dad happened to have."

"I am herby declaring this an S-rank secret; no one outside this room is to be told of this document." If he could keep this from getting out to the public he could at least limit the damage. Kushina could make all the declarations she wanted from the sand village, no one here would believe her.

Asuma smiled back at the Hokage. "I'm afraid that would be impossible now."

"What do you mean?" Fugaku demanded.

XXXXXXXXXX

Genma and Hayate were standing on top of the Hokage monument doing a little favor for their friend Asuma.

"You know this is kind of fun!" Genma said as he tossed out another stack of papers. He watched as the wind got them and sent them floating down all through the village. They'd read the documents of course. There were two papers stapled together, one a marriage certificate and the other a personal letter written by Asuma and bearing his signature and the Sarutobi clan seal. The letter explained the manner of how the certificate was found and gave Asuma's personal assurance that it was authentic. A lot of people would want to think the certificate a fake, but a clan head's word carried a lot of weight, especially if he was also the son of the Third Hokage. Most people would believe the documents real.

"Do you," cough, cough. "Think we'll get in any trouble for this?" Hayate asked as he helped toss out another stack of the 10,000 copies Asuma had made.

"Don't know," Genma said. "Maybe we'll get busted for littering."

XXXXXXXXXX

Hinata was in the Hyuuga courtyard doing a little light training when she spotted a couple papers floating down. Curious she went over to see what it was. When she realized what she was looking at her reaction was strong and in character. _Naruto-kun is the Yondaime's heir! I'm betrothed to the son of the Yondaime! _"Oh my!" She gasped out and fainted dead away.

XXXXXXXXXX

Shikamaru was sleeping on the roof of the academy with Chouji sitting next to him happily munching on chips.

Slap.

He opened his eyes to see a piece of paper had landed on his face. "Troublesome," he muttered and lazily reached out to get hold of the paper. Though lazy to the bone he was inquisitive enough to read what he had.

"What is it?" Chouji asked.

Shikamaru frowned at his big boned friend. Though only eight and considered an idiot by his classmates he actually had a very sharp mind and could see patterns and possible outcomes that most people never even suspected. "It's trouble," he said. "A whole lot of trouble." He tossed the paper away and watched it drift down from the roof. He lay back down and closed his eyes again.

XXXXXXXXXX

Sasuke was in training ground seven. Itachi had agreed to instruct him today.

Itachi stood calmly in the open and motioned with his fingers. "Come."

"Here I come Anki!" Sasuke shouted and attacked his older brother as hard as he could. He launched a series of swift and deliberate kicks and punches.

Itachi held his ground and simply blocked, he made no attempt to counter even though Sasuke was leaving himself wide open. After a couple minutes of this Itachi called a halt, he was still standing in the exact same spot and seemed unaffected. Sasuke was bent over and panting.

"That was not bad Sasuke," Itachi observed calmly. "But your strikes are still too wide and you clearly don't consider what your enemy may do to you in return."

He was about to further critique his brother's performance when a paper gently fell out of the sky. Snatching it from the air Itachi looked at it.

"What is it?" Sasuke asked.

Itachi folded up the paper and put it carefully away. "Sasuke, let's go home and get kaasan and the three of us go out for dinner tonight."

"Really Anki?" Sasuke was grinning. His brother hardly ever wanted to do anything with them anymore so this would be a treat. "That's great, but how come?"

"I believe father is going to be in a very poor mood this evening."

XXXXXXXXXX

Fugaku was staring at Asuma disbelieving. "You did what?"

"I had some friends toss out about ten thousand copies of this along with a signed letter promising it was authentic."

"How dare you do such a thing?" Fugaku demanded.

"What did I do?" Asuma asked innocently. "So far as I know there's no law against giving out copies of any document that has _not_ been sealed."

"Do not pretend to be ignorant of the importance of this. Do you know what you have done?!"

"Yes," Asuma answered sternly. "I've righted a wrong that my father committed."

"You have contaminated the entire village with this filthy lie!" Fugaku shouted.

"It's not a lie," Jiraiya said quietly. He hadn't wanted to attend this meeting. Though he was a Council member he had never enjoyed the dull business. He was only present because the Hokage had ordered him to be. He hadn't known what Asuma was going to do here today. Neither he nor Kushina had taken him into their confidence. He'd had no idea what was in the package that Rin had delivered and then brought back. _I guess I know how much Kushina trusts me now. Not that I can blame her I suppose._

Fugaku and the others were all looking at Jiraiya. "And how would you know that?" Fugaku asked.

Jiraiya looked at the Hokage. _I guess this is where I finally take sides. _"I was a witness to the marriage ceremony and will testify to the fact that Minato and Kushina really were married."

Fugaku stared at Jiraiya as if he'd just stabbed him.

"You were a witness?!" Hiashi said angrily, for once his calm mask cast aside. "Why did you never speak up?!"

"Because Sarutobi asked me not to," Jiraiya said quietly.

With that Fugaku sat back in his chair and knew he had lost. If Jiraiya was declaring that the Yondaime and Kushina really had been married there was nothing he could do. If he called the honored Sannin a liar the entire Council, hell the entire village, would turn on him.

"We have a proposal and a second," Hiashi said. "Shall we vote now or is there more need for debate?"

Riyuki, who was acting as the representative for Uchiha, looked at his brother. He saw no indication from him that he wanted to argue any further. "I believe we all know how we feel on this issue and can vote. On behalf of the Uchiha clan I vote no."

"I vote yes," Hiashi said.

"No," Homura said.

"Yes," said Asuma.

"No," Koharu said.

"Yes," Shikaku said.

"No," Danzo said.

"Yes," said Inoichi.

"Yes," said Chouza.

"Yes," said Shibi.

"Yes," said Jiraiya.

By a final vote of 8 to 5 the Council passed the proposal from Asuma into law… subject to the Hokage's signature of course.

Asuma looked to Fugaku. "The Council has passed the resolution by a majority vote, will you sign it Hokage-sama?"

"No," Fugaku replied.

"You dare defy the Council?" Hiashi demanded.

"The purpose of the, 'Council' is to, 'counsel' not command." Fugaku intoned. "I will not sign into law something as ridiculous as this."

"We control the purse strings," Shikaku reminded him. "We represent the clans; we can make things very difficult for you."

Fugaku frowned at the bitter truth behind those words. The Hokage was a ruler, but not an absolute ruler. He shared power with the clans who were semi-autonomous and with the Council. The Council was meant to advise and support the Hokage and so could not pass laws without his approval. But the Council had two legal powers that were very important. First they selected each new Hokage. If they wanted to they could prevent him from naming his own successor. Second, and more important, they had control of the budget. They could decide where the money went. They could not force him to do anything he did not want to, and it would take a unanimous vote to remove him from office. But they could make his life difficult by refusing him the funds he needed.

Still, there was never any choice. To sign would be to admit defeat. He would never do that. "Make things as difficult as you like, but the Kyuubi's container will never be a Namikaze while I'm alive."

As it turned out Uchiha Fugaku had just spoken a prophesy.

XXXXXXXXXX

Following the meeting Fugaku asked Jiraiya to remain for a private talk. Once everyone was gone the Hokage looked at the Sannin and spoke his mind.

"You betrayed me." He said in a flat unforgiving tone.

"I spoke the truth."

"Honesty is no virtue in a ninja."

_My mom says that for ninja there is only one absolute virtue, and that's loyalty. _Jiraiya recalled Naruto's words. "I did what I felt to be the right thing, for the village and for the memory of my student."

"But not for your Hokage," Fugaku pointed out sharply. He looked away from him. "Get out Jiraiya, and I don't mean from this room or this building. Leave Konoha and don't return until I send for you. I know how much you love the open road. Go and get your fill. Go anywhere you want in the world, _except _Suna. I am giving you a direct order to not go there unless I tell you to."

"Hai Hokage-sama," the man turned and stormed out without another word.

Fugaku was staring out the window looking over the village. _One Sannin lost, one banished, so now what? _Months ago he'd received a very surprising offer from a very surprising source. He'd declined to reply at the time, thinking it would be far too dangerous. But now the situation had worsened. He had lost the loyalty of Jiraiya and half the Council would be out to try and make his life miserable. He needed some new source of strength to help him reaffirm his hold on power. It would be a risk, but given the current circumstances he now judged it a risk worth taking.

XXXXXXXXXX

The following day Hinata was seated in her usual spot when Sasuke came over. She looked at him and tried to smile politely. "Hello Sasuke."

"Hi Hinata," he said without his usual charming grin. "I just wanted to tell you that I'm not going to eat with you anymore. I don't like you anymore."

"Wha… what? Wh… why?" The whole class was watching.

"My dad says you're a weakling, that you're beneath me, and that I shouldn't waste time being nice to you." With that he headed right back to his seat.

Ino and Sakura had huge grins and they along with the rest of the girls were quickly whispering about how the, 'stuck up princess' had gotten what she deserved.

Hinata heard some of these nasty whispers and could only lower her head and try not to cry. _What did I do? _She wondered. _What did I ever do to make everyone not like me?_

XXXXXXXXXX

One week later in Suna Kushina received a letter from Asuma through the regular mail. She read what had happened in the meeting and the end result. He told her how many of the citizens now regretted what had happened and actually wanted her and Naruto to return and bring the Namikaze clan back to life. But Konoha was not a democracy and the one man who had the actual say was adamant that it would not happen. _It figures, _she thought bitterly. _When the people hated us it convinced Sarutobi. Now the people like us and it doesn't affect Fugaku. Fine, I told you what I would do, damn me to hell if I was bluffing._

She found her son and called him over. "Come on Naruto, we're going to the Tower of Wind."

XXXXXXXXXX

Both Naruto and Kushina were kneeling during the audience. Behind his cloth screen they could make out the Kazekage as he read the original marriage certificate.

"So it seems that you are the widow of the Yondaime Hokage of Konoha, and that young Naruto is the great man's son and heir. We are most pleased to know that the honored Namikaze line still lives." There was a pause and she could feel the Kazekage's excitement, even after all these years the Namikaze name still held great power in the ninja world. "What do you wish to ask of us?"

"Honored Kazekage-sama, my husband's home village has abandoned us and robbed us of our rightful legacy. Therefore we owe them no loyalty what so ever. I ask your permission to reestablish the Namikaze clan here in Suna, with myself as clan head and my son as heir."

Behind the screen she saw him nod. "It wounds us to see how Konoha has mistreated you and your son. We welcome the rebirth of the Namikaze here, what Konoha has cast off we will cherish and honor. We recognize you Namikaze Kushina, we recognize you Namikaze Naruto, and we grant you the rights and privileges of a clan and Great House. Namikaze, the Tenth House of Suna."

XXXXXXXXXX

A few days later in Konoha a man who had been an exile and missing nin finally returned home.

Fugaku nodded to him respectfully. "Welcome home Orochimaru."

The Sannin smiled wide and bowed. "It is good to be back; I pledge to you my loyalty and devotion Hokage-sama."

Fugaku nodded well pleased. _At least there is one Sannin I can trust._


	24. Mission request

"Have you lost your damn mind?!" Inuzuka Tsume was on her feet shouting at the top of her lungs. The Inuzuka were never ones to hold back their opinions. "He's the biggest traitor the village has ever known! How can you have pardoned him?!"

"He killed innocent people and even fellow leaf nin just to experiment on them," Shikaku spat out.

"He's a murdering psychopath," Inoichi declared.

"One of my father's biggest regrets was always that he couldn't bring himself to kill him when he had the chance," Asuma said. "Do the right thing Fugaku and kill him while you can!"

"Ku, ku, ku and who are you wanting to kill dear little Asuma?" The members of the Council all turned to see Orochimaru standing there smiling back at them. He was dressed in an elegant looking white robe. "I remember you as a little boy; you were very precocious then, from what hear that hasn't changed."

Asuma slowly came to his feet. "My father should have killed you when he had the chance," he took out his trench knives and sent killer intent out. "Maybe I'll finish what he started."

Orochimaru put his head back and laughed. "Oh really? And do you think you are even a shadow of what Saurtobi-sensei was? Attack me if you like, just make sure you really want to die today."

"That's enough, Orochimaru, Asuma," Fugaku rapped out sharply. "Leaf nin do not attack one another, especially not in the Council chambers."

"Ku, ku, ku of course you are right Hokage-sama," Orochimaru offered a smooth bow.

Asuma grunted and sat back down.

Hiashi stood and sent the Sannin a look of cold contempt. "This is a meeting of the Council of Fire, you are not permitted here."

"Oh, but I am, the Lord Hokage offered me a seat on this Council and I of course accepted."

"What?!" Tsume screeched. "You forced Jiraiya out and give his place to this snake?!"

"I have my own place," Orochimaru said stiffly. "I am a Sannin after all; do I not deserve some small recognition?"

"That is very true," Fugaku announced. "Orochimaru is a Sannin and deserving of all honor. To reward him for his service and continued loyalty to Konoha I granted him a Council seat as well as certain other privileges."

"What other privileges?" Asuma demanded.

"Well for one I've agreed to allow him to recruit a bodyguard to help protect him," Fugaku announced. "Many people want him dead including his former criminal associates. For his own protection I have agreed he may recruit outsider and train them. They may also serve to help the village, though they will not be leaf nin. Their loyalty will be to Orochimaru."

"You're going to let him recruit a private army of ninja and base them here in Konoha?" Hiashi spoke. He and all the Council members looked shocked, even the Hokage's supporters. (Danzo looked especially unhappy.) "Fugaku I truly begin to question your sanity."

"I begin to question if the Council should remove you from office," Shikaku said.

"Don't make idle threats," Riyuki snapped. "You would never get a unanimous vote."

"The maybe we won't vote him out," Shikaku said quietly.

"Is that a threat Shikaku?" Fugaku asked pleasantly. "Because if it is that would be treason."

Orochimaru laughed as he took his seat. "Such heavy melodrama, I'd forgotten how entertaining my home could be." He grinned over in Shikaku's direction. "There's no need to worry, I just want a few men who I can rely on to be a bodyguard for me. I certainly wouldn't describe them as an, 'army.'"

"And these men will be loyal to you and not the Hokage?" Hiashi asked.

"Well, I'll be paying them and training them so it's only right that they be loyal to me now isn't it?"

"Orochimaru has already agreed that some of his especially trained ninja will be allowed to aid the village," Fugaku said. "It will make security far simpler and provide u s a few additional ninja."

"And what other privileges beside a Council seat and the right to raise his own forces have you offered him?" Hiashi asked.

"Why our wise and open minded Godaime Hokage has agreed to allow me to continue experimenting for the good of the village." Orochimaru stated.

The mention of experiments from Orochimaru had not only Tsume but Asuma, Shikaku, Inoichi, Chouza, and even Hiashi on their feet.

Fugaku held out a hand and called for calm. "The experiments will be only on volunteers and prisoners from around Fire country who have been sentenced to death. There will be no kidnappings, and experiments will not be done on the citizens or ninja of Konoha."

Orochimaru nodded. "Yesssss, I have learned the error of my ways and regret all the innocent life I have taken. I will still pursue knowledge but only with those whose lives are offered willingly or whose lives are already forfeit. Believe me when I say I am a changed man."

"If you can sit there and talk about experimenting with human beings then you look like the same old snake to me," Asuma said coldly.

"When people hear about this there will be riots in the street," Shikaku predicted.

"People may well be upset," Fugaku agreed. "At least at first, but in time they will accept it. Orochimaru is a Sannin and a genius of great renown, his presence and support will bring the village not only added prestige but added strength."

"Is it really the village's position that concerns you Fugaku?" Hiashi questioned. "Or your own?"

Fugaku stared back at his rival's unflinching face. "I am the village."

XXXXXXXXXX

People on the street scattered before him as a school of goldfish might scatter before an oncoming shark. Orochimaru enjoyed the sight. He could never understand those people who would prefer to be loved over being feared. Being fear was the most wonderful thing in the world! It was proof that your power was acknowledged, it as the ultimate form of respect.

In the middle of an empty street he came to an abrupt halt and looked above. "Aren't you going to come say hello… Anko?"

"Yaaah!!" Anko leapt down from her hiding spot. She'd been hoping to surprise him but wasn't counting on it. Out of the sleeve of her trench coat a pair of black snakes shot out.

With an amused grin Orochimaru dodged them easily. "Is this any way to greet your old sensei little Anko?"

"Shut up and die you snake bastard!" Her hands flying she fired off twenty shuriken and kunai in quick succession.

Laughing all the while Orochimaru dodged every one. "Now that is enough rude behavior out of you Anko."

All at once her curse seal throbbed with agonizing heat and pain. She felt her whole body begin to tremble and she fell to her knees, barely able to move. "Damn… it."

"You've improved," he said as he landed right beside her. He reached down and grabbed her chin forcing her to look up and meet his gaze. "But only a little."

She glared up hatefully, but her body refused to work and the pain was almost too much to bear. "Why," she grunted. "Why… have you come… back?"

Smiling he licked his lips and put his mouth right by her ear. "To take what is rightfully mine of course," he whispered.

"Lord Orochimaru!" Two ANBU dropped down to the street beside him and his former student. "Did she attack you? We will arrest her and bring her to ANBU headquarters for interrogation and imprisonment."

He let go of Anko and straightened up. He sent the ANBU an amused look. "Attack me? What a silly notion, my dear pupil merely wanted to greet me."

"But…" The ANBU could see where the kunai and shuriken were sticking up out of a wall and the sidewalk.

"I _said _there was no attack, is there a problem?"

"No! No problem Orochimaru-sama," the ANBU quickly answered

"Good," Orochimaru said pleasantly. He could of course see the terror in his eyes it made him feel good. As he walked away Orochimaru deactivated the curse seal. "Come and see me again whenever you like Anko, I find your visits amusing."

Anko got shakily back up to her feet. She knew there was nothing she could do. She stared at the two ANBU and at all the civilians looking on in silence. "Fools!" She screamed at them in bitter frustration. "Don't you understand?! Konoha is a cursed village now! Any village that welcomes Orochimaru is cursed and doomed! Do you hear me?! You're all fucking cursed and doomed!"

The next day Anko was missing. On the kitchen table in her apartment investigating ANBU found her hitai-ite. It had a deep slash down the middle of it.

XXXXXXXXXX

In Suna the huge announcement that Namikaze had been reborn and a Tenth House created did little to change the day to day lives of anyone. Even though a new estate would be provided the Namikaze clan; Kushina, Naruto, and Gaara remained in their current location. Security was easier to provide with everyone in a central location and anyway Kushina liked living with all her family and friends. The boys continued to train with extra security measures taken and the ninja academy continued to function. Everything was more or less normal.

Then a toad about the size of a small dog appeared in front of Kushina as she was training the boys in the courtyard.

"Hi there boss lady!" The toad greeted her.

The training came to a sudden stop as she looked down at their visitor. "And who are you?"

"The name's Gamakichi," the toad announced. "Listen, if it's not too much trouble could you and everyone else meet Jiraiya just outside the village? He's not allowed to come into Suna."

XXXXXXXXXX

"They banished you and let Orochimaru back in?!" Tsunade said disbelieving.

"That's the long and short of it," Jiraiya said. "_And _he's a Council member and permitted to do his experiments on prisoners."

"And the Council and village are going along with this?" Kakashi asked. "Now I _know _I made the right decision to leave that place."

"Most of the Council opposes Orochimaru being there, but they can't vote Fugaku out of office and they're not quite desperate enough to start a civil war… yet. As for the people there have been some protests, Fugaku ignores them. For better or worse Fugaku is the Hokage and if he wants Orochimaru in the village there's really nothing short of an armed revolt anyone can do to stop it."

Everyone looked at each other glumly.

"They don't want my son but they're happy to welcome a man who was a traitor and experimented on innocent people. What a world we live in." Kushina said. "In any case Jiraiya I want to thank you for supporting Asuma he way you did. Even though the effort failed I still deeply appreciate the stand you took, especially since you were punished for it."

"Well I'm very glad to hear that Kushina, because I have a request to make of you." He looked at her very seriously.

Seeing that from Jiraiya gave her a nervous feeling. "What?"

"Let me take Naruto with me as an apprentice for the next three years."

XXXXXXXXXX

"May I have a word in private with you father?"

Fugaku looked up from the paper work in his home study to see Itachi standing just inside the doorway. "What is it?"

Itachi shut the door and then spoke in a low measured voice. "I would like to assassinate Orochimaru."

Fugaku gasped and stared at his son and heir. "Is that a joke?!"

"No," Itachi replied in his usual solemn voice. "I believe your decision to bring Orochimaru to this village was a grave error. If you allow him to remain he will certainly be your death, and likely the death of many others. Please give me permission to kill him, I will perform the assassination as a Hands mission if necessary. I will take responsibility and claim I acted on my own volition without any orders. I will accept execution for my actions."

"Absolutely not! Even if you could kill him I need Orochimaru! I need to be seen to have the support of at least one Sannin. Besides he tells me he is working on a special seal that would drastically increase the power of our clan and make my position far more secure."

"Are you really prepared to risk the village for your own ambitions?"

"I am the village, "Fugaku said harshly." Whatever helps me helps Konoha."

"I do not believe Sarutobi ever felt that way."

"Well then, perhaps you made the wrong choice that night."

"Yes," Itachi agreed. "Perhaps I did."

The two men looked at each other in silence.

"Is there anything else?" Fugaku asked.

"No father, nothing more."


	25. Team Tsunade

**Three Years Later**

**Ages:**

**Temari: 16**

**Kankuro: 15**

**Hisa: 15**

**Haku: 15**

**Gaara: 13**

**Naruto: 12**

**Hinata: 12**

**Michio: 11**

**Matsuri: 11**

**Hanabi: 8**

**Miwa: 7 **

They had all gathered just outside of Suna. Kushina was pacing back and forth.

"There's no reason to be nervous you know," Shinzou told her.

"I'm not nervous," Kushina spoke a blatant lie.

"I'm sure Naruto will be quite something after his apprentice ship with a Sannin." Shinzou said.

"He'd better be," Kushina said. "That's the only reason I let him go in the first place."

XXXXXXXXXX

**Flashback**

"No! No! No! No way are you taking him!" Kushina grabbed her son and held him possessively. "I appreciate what you did for us, I really do, but I'm not letting you have my son go wondering around the world with you. Especially not after there's been an attempt on his life!"

"That attempt was likely only the first of many Kushina," Jiraiya spoke in a rare serious tone. "Whatever you may think of me I have _never _wanted any harm to come to him. I'll keep him safe. I'm a spy master after all; I know how to keep a low profile and how to disappear if I have to. If he's going to survive he's going to need to learn everything he can as fast as he can. Give him to me for three years and when I come back he'll be an incredible ninja."

In his mother's arms Naruto twisted about a bit to look up at her. "Mom, I think ero-sennin has a point."

"Hey! Don't call me that! Call me Jiraiya-sensei!"

Naruto glanced at Jiraiya and then back to his mom. "Like I was saying, I think ero-sennin has a point. If he can make me a great ninja like my dad was then I should do this."

Kushina felt a terrible ache in her heart. "Son… you _want_ to go with him?"

"No mom! I want to stay here with you and everyone else. But for my sake and the clan's sake I need to become a powerful ninja right? If going with ero-sennin means he can make me a ninja like my father was, well, how can I refuse?"

She looked at his face. Naruto usually behaved like a head strong child. But he had this unsettling way of sometimes sounding just like his father. She looked to Jiraiya. He had been Minato's sensei and her husband had thought the world of him. After what he had done she was willing to believe he really did want to help her son. And sadly he was right about something else too; there _would _be more attempts on Naruto's life. For Naruto to survive he had to become powerful as soon as possible.

She looked soberly up at Jiraiya. "I expect you to guard him with your life. If _any _harm comes to him I will hold you personally responsible. Is that clear?"

"Sure."

"I want you to send me weekly reports on his progress. And Naruto-kun? Please write me and your family so we can know you are all right."

He gave her one of his huge smiles. "I will mom, I promise."

"Oh, and one more thing Jiraiya. If my son comes back a pervert I… will… skin… you."

"And then I'll dip you in a barrel of salt," Tsunade added menacingly.

Jiraiya gulped. _Why the hell are some women so damn scary? _"I'll protect his virtue along with his life."

"Make sure that you do."

"So this means I can go?"

Kushina cried out. "My baby's leaving!" She began planting kissed all over his face.

"Mooooom!" Naruto wailed. "I'm not a baby!"

XXXXXXXXXX

"I think that's them," Kakashi called out.

And sure enough it was. Jiraiya looked about the same as usual. Naruto had clearly grown some, but was still a child of course. As soon as she saw them Kushina ran out and held her arms open wide. Laughing Naruto happily bound into her welcoming embrace.

Kushina let out a shout of pure joy. "My baby's home!" She began putting kisses all over his face.

"Mooooom! I'm not a baby!"

Michio came up to them and grinned. "Awwww, who's the cute little baby? You are! Yes you are!" He began making baby noises as most of the others started laughing.

Naruto sent his cousin a look that promised pain and humiliation later.

XXXXXXXXXX

"He's amazing," Jiraiya told her. The others had gone back to the house to begin celebrating Naruto's return. Jiraiya had asked Kushina to remain so they could have a private talk. "He's high Jonin level and will likely reach Kage before too long."

"Really? That strong?"

Jiraiya nodded.

"What about the Hiraishin?' She asked. "Has he made progress?"

"Some, but it's hard to judge how much." Jiraiya had made him study the Hiraishin _every _single night for at least an hour. "I do expect he'll get it eventually, but it may be years yet." Jiraiya shook his head. "Not that he really _needs _the Hiraishin just yet. He is a seal master, had over a hundred jutsus, and almost unlimited chakra. His chakra control could be better, but with his reserves it's plenty good enough. The kid really will be Kage level in a few more years." He eyed Kushina speculatively. "If I could have him for just one more year…"

"No," she said immediately. "How… how was the fox training?"

Jiraiya held up three fingers.

Kushina's eyebrows leapt. "Really?"

"But that is the absolute limit for now." To her surprise she saw him open up his shirt. He revealed a huge scar on his chest that looked ominously similar to claw marks.

"Did Naruto do that?"

Jiraiya nodded and began closing up his shirt again. "In my life I've come close to death twice. The first time was when you and Tsunade nearly killed me."

"I remember," Kushina said dryly. It had been when he'd tried peeping on them in the bathhouse.

"The other time was when Naruto went to four tails. At that point he loses his individuality and he and the fox merge psyches. When that happens he will attack anyone, friend or foe. You need to warn everyone that if they see four tails they need to run and get away from him."

She slowly nodded.

"Anyway I think I'll be going now."

"Wait aren't you at least coming to the celebration?"

He smiled at her. "I'm still banned from entering Suna. And I'd like to at least _try _and follow some of my orders." With a hand sign he vanished in a swirl of wind and leaves.

XXXXXXXXXX

Naruto was digging into a big bowl of sis mom's ramen. Of all the things he'd missed about home this had been near the top of the list. Being back he was happy to see that most things had remained unchanged. Though a few things were different. For example little Miwa had gotten a little bigger and was practicing the sword against her brother. He'd expected that but some other things…

XXXXXXXXXX

There had been a knock at the front door. When Aoi answered it there had been a pretty little girl there with short light brown hair. Naruto was totally caught off guard when he saw her go over to Gaara.

"Thank you again for inviting me here, Gaara-sempai," the girl said shyly.

"You're very welcome Matsuri, here let me introduce you to my brother." Gaara calmly looked at him. "Naruto, this is Matsuri, Matsuri this is Naruto."

Matsuri immediately bowed to him. "I am very honored to meet you Naruto-sama, Gaara-sempai speaks of you often, and it is a great privilege to meet the son of the Yondaime."

"Well I'm a very happy to meet you too," Naruto said with a sly grin and turned to Gaara. "You've got a really cute girlfriend."

At that Matsuri turned a deep shade of red and looked down.

Gaara simply frowned. "Matsuri is one of the students who train here. She asked me if I would give her additional help to improve her skills and I have been doing so. I have come to think of her as a… friend."

Naruto saw just the tiniest hint of color in Gaara's cheeks. He looked at the girl. "Just so you know Matsuri for Gaara saying that much about you would be like a confession of love from anyone else."

She looked up startled. "Lo… love?"

"My brother is merely being foolish," Gaara said. "Please ignore him."

"Ah, ex… excuse me sempai I want to say hello to your mother." She fled as fast as she could.

Naruto was still grinning as he looked to Gaara. "_Gaara's got a girlfriend, Gaara's got a girlfriend._" He began in a sing song voice.

"Naruto," Gaara said in his usual serious tone. "I have missed you and am glad that you have returned. Please do not force me to kill you, it would upset mother."

XXXXXXXXXX

There was music playing but only one couple was actually dancing. Kakashi was out on the floor grinning beneath his mask for all he was worth. His dance partner was some weirdo girl in a trench coat and mini skirt with a fishnet top. As she danced and ground up against Kakashi her coat would flap open and expose most of her chest to public view. She was **not** wearing a bra. His mom, Tsunade, and Aoi all looked on the scene with varying expressions ranging from distaste to horror. The woman had a Suna hitai-ite so she was clearly a sand nin.

Before too long she leaned in and whispered something to her dance partner. Kakashi giggled a bit and nodded. The two of them headed upstairs. Aoi sent her husband an angry glare; he hadn't quite managed to hide a jealous expression.

"Wow," Naruto said out loud. "Kakashi-niisan is going to get some."

"Get some what?" Miwa asked.

"Naruto! Don't you dare answer that!" Tsunade shouted.

_Grrrr, _Kushina thought. _I'll kill Jiraiya!_

XXXXXXXXXX

A few days later Naruto, Gaara, and Michio took, and easily passed, the Genin exam. Unlike Konoha there was no second test to affirm who was a Genin. The three of them each received their Suna hitai-ites and were enrolled on the list of ninja.

That night Kushina presented her sons with katanas, while Shinzou gave his son one.

"A katana is no ordinary sword," Kushina told them. "It is a part of you; you must name it and give it a little bit of your soul."

Gaara blinked, unlike his brother and cousin he felt no excitement about receiving his katana. Alone among the Uzumaki / Namikaze children he did not care about fighting with a sword. But he understood it was a clan tradition and it was being given to him by his mother so he took the sword with reverence and respect. It would never be weapon for him, but he would treasure it as a symbol of his family and clan. He bit down on his lip and gave his sword a bloody kiss.

"My sword's name is Kushina," he announced. His mother smiled down upon him, honored and pleased.

Michio slowly cut his palm. "Minori." That was all he said or needed to say.

Naruto took his katana and cut his hand. "My sword's name," he announced. "Is Hinata."

The very next day team Tsunade left the village on its first mission.

XXXXXXXXXX

In Bird country a camp with a hundred armed men was busy with the usual activities; mostly gambling, drinking, and occasional tiny bit of drill. They'd slaughtered all the local guards and soldiers and none of them would dare come into _their_ forest. They felt quite secure and safe.

"Excuse me!"

Men stopped and looked up. They were startled to see three _children _had wandered somehow onto the edge of their camp. One of the men noted they all had swords on. "You brats come to try and join us?"

The blonde boy who seemed to be their leader smiled at that. "No, actually me and my teammates are ninja, we're here to kill you." He announced in a friendly voice.

As the men began laughing Naruto and Michio began forming hand signs while Gaara made his sand move without needing any.

"**Subeta Kaze no Jutsu!" **Naruto called out.

"**Mizu Doragon Misaiaru no Jutsu!" **Michio shouted.

The laughter died when ten of the bandits were sliced neatly into pieces.

Water from a nearby stream turned into a massive dragon. It rose majestically behind Michio before slamming down into the camp scattering the bandits in all directions.

Five of the men found themselves encased in sand and helpless.

"**Suna Tomurai!" **Gaara cried out. The men screamed as they were crushed. Their blood rained down along with the water from Michio's jutsu.

"**Kage Bushin no Jutsu." **Two hundred clones of Naruto came into existence and began to give chase. "Don't let even one get away!" Naruto shouted. His teammates nodded and also ran after their prey.

XXXXXXXXXX

From a nearby tree Tsunade watched. She'd gotten over her hemophobia the night she'd had to perform surgery to save Kushina. Even so she felt a little queasy at the sight of all that blood. _I wonder if maybe Kakashi would have been a better choice after all, he is an assassin. _Though she was a legendary Sannin and had killed, she did not relish it. She would much rather heal than kill. But Kushina and Shinzou had made the deliberate decision to have their children brought up with this specialty. The current generation of Uzumaki / Namikaze were all legendary killers, and it seemed the next generation was already on its way.

In less than seven minutes all the bandits were dead.

_I pity anyone who wants to be their enemy. _She thought. _Poor Fugaku._

XXXXXXXXXX

**Author's Note: **The title of the next chapter will be, 'Night of the Long Knives.'


	26. Night of the Long Knives

Iruka looked at his student with a calm expression. "No need to be nervous Hinata. All you need to do is create three bushins."

She nodded. "Hai sensei," she ran through the hand signs. "**Bushin no Jutsu." **There was a puff of smoke and three identical copies of herself appeared.

Mizuki nodded and checked her name off the list. "Perfect, just as one would expect from the Hyuuga clan."

"Please come up and take a hitai-ite Hinata," Iruka told her. "You are now a ninja and an adult of this village."

"Thank you sensei." She retrieved one of them and tied it around her neck.

"Please return to the classroom and send Shino in."

XXXXXXXXXX

She went back to the class and called Shin's name. She then sat down quietly in her seat. No one noticed her or paid her any attention at all. When Sasuke had been paying attention to her the girls had deliberately ignored her and been cold. Right after Sasuke declared he no longer liked her they had been mean and cruel. But now when they ignored her it wasn't to be mean or to punish, it was because no one cared. After all this time everyone had just about forgotten that Sasuke had ever liked her.

She looked over to the front row where Sasuke was being fawned over by Ino, Sakura, and several others. Not only was he the Hokage's son, he was the student of the year and the best at everything. He had an easy going smile that made all the girls melt. He'd actually been on a few. 'dates' having taken Ino, Sakura, and a few others out to eat or to a festival or a party. He didn't call any of them his girlfriend; he seemed to enjoy the attention he got.

In their world if Sasuke was the sun she was morning mist, unnoticed and unimportant. In four years she had failed to make even one real friend. She came to school, did what she was supposed to, and muddled through. Somehow despite being pretty intelligent and trained in the gentle fist fighting style she had always been lodged squarely in the middle of the class rankings. Average. Competent. Ordinary.

That might have been all right for someone else, but being the Hyuuga heir it was a constant disappointment.

XXXXXXXXXX

**Flashback**

She was standing in her father's study. In the whole mansion **this** was the place she hated the most. She had just handed him another mediocre report card.

"You were ranked thirteenth out of twenty nine," her father noted.

She flinched and waited to dressed down.

He signed her card and handed it to her. "You can go Hinata."

She looked at him in surprise. "You… you aren't upset with me?"

He looked at his daughter. "I have come to accept your limitations; I have hope in Hanabi. At least you can serve the clan by marrying Naruto and connecting us to the Namikaze. You will make a poor ninja Hinata; try to at least be a decent wife and mother. You can go."

_Father has given up on me, that's why he doesn't want to yell, I'm not even worth being angry about. _She left his study more crushed than she had ever been.

XXXXXXXXXX

All twenty nine students passed. Hinata was not surprised, the graduation test was nothing but using the most basic skills. Only a really weak ninja would have any trouble passing.

"Congratulations everyone!" Iruka said proudly. "You are all now Konoha ninja and I am proud of each and every one of you. Please return here in two days time for team assignments."

Outside the school parents were waiting to congratulate their children. Hinata was not surprised to see that no one was waiting for her except her escort.

Neji bowed to her. He was nothing if not polite and proper to her. "Congratulations lady Hinata, it seems you succeeded in becoming a ninja."

"Th… thank you Neji." She wished she and her cousin were close. She would have loved to have had him act like a protective big brother to her. But there was a constant unspoken anger there that made it impossible.

"Though I honestly don't see the point," he continued politely. "I would think Hiashi-sama would almost prefer you to have failed than to become just an ordinary ninja."

She grimaced at his cool unforgiving words. "I me… mean to try re… really hard to improve."

He looked at her and a tiny mocking grin spread over his lips. "Of course."

She felt what little hope was inside her collapse. _How does he unnerve me with just a few words? _She wondered.

There was a loud commotion. She and Neji looked to see what it was. There in the courtyard was the Lord Hokage congratulating his son. And standing behind him were a few other figures.

"Wh… wha… what is h… he do… doing here?"

Neji saw where she was looking and smirked. "When does the Hokage go anywhere without Orochimaru nearby?"

That was true, the Hokage had come to rely more and more on the Sannin as an advisor and source of support. Surrounding Orochimaru were four of his, 'bodyguard ninja' better known simply as his bodyguards. They all had hitai-ites engraved with a snake on the metal plate. With his sharp eye Neji noted that all of them also had curse seals. Those along with the blood line seals had brought Fugaku fresh strength.

Neji was of course curious about the rumors he'd heard that Orochimaru was working on another new seal. One that supposedly could negate the hated caged bird seal. _If he took my seal off I'd gladly serve him! _So far it was only a rumor, but one that gave the cadet branch hope and filled the main branch with worry.

"He sc… scares me," Hinata said quietly.

Neji snorted. "Is there anything that does not scare you lady Hinata?" He asked. "We should go."

Hinata quickly nodded and left, glad to get far away from the creepy ninja.

XXXXXXXXXX

Her father only met with her for a few minutes, just long enough to confirm she had actually passed. He did not even bother to congratulate her. She headed up to her room to wait for dinner.

She was up there about half an hour when there was a puff of smoke.

"Hey Hinata, how's it going? Got any chips?" Asked a small toad.

"Gamakichi!" When Naruto had started on his training journey he'd used the toad as a messenger so that they could continue their correspondence. He'd sent her letters and pictures from all over the world. She had two photo albums filled with pictures of him and the places he'd visited. She's started keeping bags of chips in her room to give to Gamakichi as thanks. "Here you are, did Naruto write to me today? I wasn't expecting it."

"Mmmm! Barbecue flavored! You became a ninja today right?" At her nod he took off the leather briefcase around his neck and gave it to her. "This is for you, congratulations by the way."

"Thank you," she said. She opened the case to find a short letter, a photo, and what looked like a curved blade in a sheath.

_Hinata-chan,_

_Congratulations on becoming a ninja! I am super proud of you! I know you'll be great. Everyone here is also happy for you. In the case is a wakizashi, it's a short sword that is every bit as sharp and strong as a katana. I wanted to send you a katana, but mom says those are only for clan members. She promises to give you one as a wedding gift when we marry. Please always carry this with you; it'll be my way of protecting you until we can meet again. All the best Hinata-chan._

_Naruto_

She took the curved blade out to look at it, she was no expert but she thought it looked beautiful and lethal. She took a look at the photo. In it were pictured Naruto and everyone else who lived there. They were holding up a huge banner that read, 'Congratulations Hinata.'

"Why are you crying?" Gamakichi asked. "Do you not like your present? Want me to return it and have him get you something else?"

"No," she said quickly and wiped her eyes. "Please tell Naruto-kun I absolutely love it, it's the most wonderful gift I've ever been given." She tied it onto her belt. "And tell him I will always keep it on me, even when I sleep."

Even if he was a thousand miles away, it felt good to know someone did care and was proud of her.

XXXXXXXXXX

"Hokage-sama, I have received a death threat," Orochimaru announced.

Fugaku looked up from his paperwork. "Nothing unusual about that is there?"

"True, there have been over a dozen attempts on my life." Orochimaru stated. "That is after all why I have two hundred bodyguards."

Fugaku nodded and returned to his paperwork. "So what's unusual about this one?"

"The threat comes from my former organization," Orochimaru stated. "They are made up of elite ninja and should not be taken lightly. I thought perhaps we might cancel or at least delay the monthly Council meeting."

Fugaku looked up again. "Over a threat? How would that look? We can't show weakness in the face of threats. The meeting goes forward as planned and I want you there as always."

Orochimaru frowned. "Well, in that case, may I have your permission to bring additional security with me?"

"Sure, bring as many as you need to feel safe."

"Thank you Hokage-sama," Orochimaru grinned. _Too easy._

XXXXXXXXXX

"Are you ready?" Riyuki asked.

Hisa shut her eyes. When she'd opened them again her sharingan was active, two black tomoe swam in her pupil. "Ready father."

He fired off a couple dozen shuriken, all aimed at vital points.

With her sharingan active she pulled out a kunai, it was child's play to deflect or dodge all the incoming weapons. She saw her father nod in approval. He then took a kunai out and rushed at her. There was no intent to kill but he did not hold back either. He was faster and stronger than she was, but knowing where each blow was being aimed she was able to hold him off and keep him from landing any clean strikes in her.

After thirty minutes of intensive mock combat Riyuki backed off and signaled an end to it. "Very well done Hisa! Since you've gained your sharingan you've begun to truly excel! I am very proud of you!"

Hearing those words from him made all the pain worthwhile. Even if it hadn't been the ideal way she was glad to have the sharingan and her father's approval again. For a time she'd been afraid he was going to give up on her. But as soon as she'd gotten her blood line everything had gone back to the way it should have been. "Thank you daddy," she said happily.

She grimaced and let go of the sharingan. The seal that had been written into her forehead flashed and she felt the stabbing pain. "Yaaah!" She stumbled as the pain was blinding.

Her father reached out and kept her from falling. "Are you all right?"

She nodded wearily. "The pain… it's worse the longer I use it. But… but it's worth it."

This was the blood line seal created by Orochimaru at her uncle's personal request. It allowed any potential bloodline that was dormant to be made active. This had been a huge advantage for the Uchiha. For all their pride in the sharingan only about a third of their ninja were ever able to activate it. With this seal one hundred percent of them now could. There was a price though; using the seal resulted in sharp pain, with the pain being proportional to the amount of use. Most agreed it was a small price to pay for the power of the blood line.

Hisa agreed. To get her father's love back a little bit of pain was nothing.

XXXXXXXXXX

When Hinata returned to the classroom two days later no one noticed the short sword she was now wearing. That didn't surprise her; no one in Konoha ever seemed to notice her. As she sat in her seat she was forced to listen to a screeching argument between Ino and Sakura about who would sit next to Sasuke. She tried to ignore it as much as she could.

Iruka and Mizuki both stepped out and wished their students luck in their future endeavors. Mizuki was the one to read out the team assignments.

"Team seven will be Sasuke, Sakura," he was forced to stop momentarily as Sakura cried out in triumph while Ino and most of the other girls lowered their heads and groaned miserably. "And Kiba, your Jonin sensei will be Uchiha Itachi."

"Yahoo!!" A joyous shout filled the air. Sasuke was on his feet pumping his fist. "This is great!"

Shaking his head Mizuki continued. "Team eight, will be Hinata and Shino, because we have 29 graduates your squad will temporarily be a two man squad, until a third member can be found for you. Your Jonin sensei will be Yuhi Kurenai."

Hinata perked up and actually smiled, she knew Kurenai and was very glad to know she would be her sensei.

Mizuki continued on. "Team ten will be Chouji, Ino, and Shikamaru. Your Jonin sensei will be Sarutobi Asuma." There was no reaction at all. Shikamaru was asleep, Chouji was eating chips, and Ino had become despondent as soon as she learned she would not get to be with Sasuke-kun.

"All right, you are all dismissed for one hour, go have lunch. Be back on time though, that is when you will be meeting your senseis."

Is Hinata got up she was approached by Shino. "Pardon me, but as we are to be teammates I think it would be beneficial for us to share lunch and get to know one another."

It was not the warmest thing she'd ever heard but she nodded, grateful that he at least wanted to get to know her. "I would like that Shino-kun." _Maybe things will finally get better now._

XXXXXXXXXX

When Orochimaru had returned he'd been given many privileges that had not been mentioned to the Council. Among them Fugaku had agreed that Orochimaru could have any training ground he chose for an estate. Fugaku was quite surprised when he asked for training ground 44, more commonly referred to as the Forest of Death. Orochimaru had explained that there was already a tower there that would make a perfect home for him and his bodyguards. The terrain would guarantee privacy and security which also made it an ideal place for his experiments. As to the occasional casualties due to the danger he didn't mind, Orochimaru was a firm believer of survival of the fittest.

He was on the balcony outside his quarters when a young Genin materialized. The silver haired youth was a promising candidate, both as a medic nin and as a spy. He did not wear the snake hitai-ite; his had a leaf stamped on it. But in all the ways that it mattered he belonged to Orochimaru completely.

"Hello Kabuto, the meeting went well I take it?"

"Very well Orochimaru-sama."

"And it will take place as I desire?"

"Of course, Master Sasori assures me his partner will act precisely at 8:10."

"Ku, ku, ku that is just what I want to hear." He looked at Kabuto carefully. "Big changes are coming soon, tell me, would you like a promotion?"

"It doesn't really matter," Kabuto replied. "I am just happy to serve you."

Orochimaru laughed. "Such devotion, I am touched."

XXXXXXXXXX

That night as the Council met they couldn't help but notice how many of Orochimaru's bodyguards seemed to be swarming all over the building. The regular security was still in place of course, but they were outnumbered by at least three to one. In the Council chambers all the clan heads and other members were already seated.

Asuma checked his watch. It was already two minutes past eight. "The Hokage is running late," he noted.

"He is just having a last minute meeting with Orochimaru," Riyuki noted. "He won't be long."

"It was nice of the Hokage to let us know that someone _else _wants to kill Orochimaru," Hiashi noted dryly.

"He certainly has enough guards in this place," Shikaku said.

"Almost makes me wonder what he is so afraid of." Asuma said.

"If you scared you can leave," Danzo said dryly.

Asuma laughed. "What ninja is afraid of death?"

XXXXXXXXXX

"So what did you want to discuss Orochimaru?" Fugaku asked. They were in his office.

Smiling Orochimaru looked to the clock on the wall. It read 8:04. "Oh, I just wanted to thank you."

"Thank me?" Fugaku grinned. "You asked for a private meeting just to do that?"

Orochimaru nodded. "I think it's important we thank people for all the things they have done for us before it's too late. I never got to do that with Sarutobi-sensei, so thank you. Thank you for allowing me to return home again where I belong and to take the path that was always meant for me, thanks to you I will fulfill my destiny and become Hokage."

"Ah, now I think I understand," Fuagaku said nodding. "You want to be my successor; you want to be the Sixth."

"No," he answered and slowly rose to his feet. "I want to be the Fifth."

"What?"

Outside his door was a sudden shout followed by the sound of a brief struggle.

"Is something going on out there?"

"Nothing important," Orochimaru assured. "It's just my men killing your guards."

Fugaku stared at him. "Is that a joke?" He asked weakly.

"Yessss, but not for you." He smiled mockingly. "Did you _really_ think I would be satisfied as your subordinate? I choked at the thought of being subservient to Minato, and he was a hundred times the leader you are. You are an ambitious overreaching fool, but you did give me everything I needed, except for just one thing more."

Fugaku gasped as the image of a snake appeared before him.

"Give me your body," Orochimaru hissed.

Fugaku screamed.

A moment later Fugaku exited his office. On the floor were the bodies of two Chunin. Kimimaro and the rest of the, 'Snake Five' bowed to him. Orochimaru looked at his watch, it said 8:09. "Do it." The Hokage commanded.

Jirobo, Kidomaru, Sakon, and Tayuya all vanished in swirls of wind and leaves.

"Time to go," the Hokage announced.

Kimimaro nodded and they both vanished.

XXXXXXXXXX

Outside the Council chambers the four bodyguards appeared and slapped paper seals onto the door and walls. They then quickly performed their sealing jutsu. No one could now enter or leave the area surrounded by their seals. It wouldn't stop high level ninja for more than a few minutes, but that would be enough.

"Let's get the hell out of here!" Sakon shouted.

He and all the other bodyguards in the Tower vanished.

XXXXXXXXXX

Within the chambers they all felt the sealing jutsu. "What the hell was that?" Asuma asked.

Hiashi went to the doors and found they would not move no matter how hard he pushed. **"Byakugan." **With his blood line active he looked at the door, walls, ceiling and floor. "This room has been sealed," he announced.

Shikaku tried to perform a shunshin but it failed. "We're not going anywhere."

"Just what the hell is this about?" Asuma demanded.

It was now 8:10.

XXXXXXXXXX

High above Konoha a figure in a black robe with red clouds flew down upon a giant clay bird. The moment he penetrated the defensive sphere of Konoha the Leaf nins knew they had an intruder. But they would need a little time to marshal an effective defense.

XXXXXXXXXX

The Tower was easy to make out; it was the tallest building in Konoha and made an ideal target. He shoved a hand into a bag of clay and produced a single clay bird. _C-4 _He thought happily. _My most powerful explosive! _But before he got to play there was one last thing. He performed a jutsu that would magnify his voice and carry it throughout the village below.

"**Orochimaru!" **His voice boomed. **"Suffer for your betrayal of Akatsuki!"**

And with that done he let his explosive bird fall as he climbed back higher into the sky. He watched it plummet with a childlike glee. _Time to show them that art is a…_

"Bang," he made a single hand sign.

**KABOOM!!**

He laughed as he saw the dust cloud rise into the air. With the amount of explosive force used he judged the Tower and everything for half a mile would be a crater now.

XXXXXXXXXX

Standing atop the Hokage monument the Fifth Hokage looked down upon the destruction.

"Yesssss, now **I **truly am Konoha."

He laughed and laughed and laughed.


	27. The Enabling Act

It had been two days since the attack. Rescue efforts were still going on to try and save those trapped in the rubble. Clean up efforts would take months. Estimated losses were at about 12,000 killed and missing. The vast majority of those being innocent civilians who had just happened to live near the Tower. Besides the Council members and guards about another dozen ninja had died who'd also lived in the area. The Hokage had been the sole survivor among those who had been in the Tower. His life had been saved by some missing paperwork. He had been late to the meeting retrieving it and had noticed the attack just in time.

Some people resented him for surviving where so many others had died. Some resented him for bringing Orochimaru back in the first place. But in the face of the worst tragedy to befall the village since the Kyuubi's attack most people decided to rally around their leader. They felt they needed to be unified in this time of crisis.

XXXXXXXXXX

Shikamaru was lying on his back on his favorite hill dressed in his mourning clothes. He was looking up at a cloud in the shape of a cat. Maybe it was a monkey. No, definitely a cat.

"Shikamaru it's time to go," his mother called as she tramped up the hill. She too was dressed in mourning clothes.

"I've changed my mind," he announced. "I'm not going."

"What do you mean you're not going?" She stood over him with her hands on her hips and a dangerous look in her eye.

"I've just decided it's too troublesome. It's a long walk there, a long walk back, a lot of standing around, and it looks like rain. I've decided I'd rather just stay here and look at clouds instead."

He fully expected her to start screaming at him. He was prepared for that. Whatever she said or threatened he wasn't going.

He was taken totally off guard when instead of yelling she spoke in a quiet voice. "You're not fooling anyone you know."

He looked at her. "I don't know what you mean."

"You loved your father very much," Yoshino said in that same quiet and understanding voice. "You're feeling pain right now; you're hurting because you've lost someone you loved. But you don't think you can admit it because you're a newly minted ninja, or maybe it's some of that ridiculous male pride. But in any case you don't want to admit your feelings so you put on a silly act."

He looked away from her and back at the clouds. "You don't know what you're talking about." Hmmm, maybe it was a monkey.

Yoshino smiled suddenly, a fond smile Shikamaru had not seen often. "Your father was a horrible liar, a drinker, and the laziest man I have _ever _met. And I loved him, loved him, loved him. I have no idea how I am going to manage knowing I will never see that scarred face or hear that annoying voice ever again. I am not ashamed to admit I am hurting or that I need to mourn him."

"It's all right for you mom," Shikamaru told her. The cloud seemed to have turned into a… ferret?

"But it's not all right for you because you're a ninja now and ninja don't cry or show their feeling or whatever else it says in those silly rules?"

Shikamaru did not reply.

"Son I am going to tell you a terrible secret. It's something they never mentioned in the academy, something that is not in those rules they make you memorize, or in any book or manual. But it's something every veteran ninja knows. Something that can only be learned from experience." She deliberately stopped there. She knew how much her son loved puzzles.

Sure enough, after about a minute he shifted his attention from the clouds back to her. "What is it?"

"It's the fact that ninja are human too. They hurt like the rest of us, fear like the rest of us, doubt like the rest of us. The _only _difference is that they're better at hiding it. You know son when I married your father he warned me a ninja's life could end at any moment and that few ninja ever died of old age. I thought I understood that and was ready for it. Every single time he left on a mission I knew it might be the last time I would ever see him. Every single time I readied myself for that. Your father survived the Third Great Ninja War, the Kyuubi's attack, and over a hundred missions of A or S-rank. Only to be killed during a routine Council meeting in the middle of peace time. And do you know what? When they told me he was gone I completely fell apart. I wasn't ready, I'm still not ready. So I know there is no way you could be. So this is what we will do. We will go to the ceremony, we will mourn, we will cry, and in time maybe we will heal."

Shikamaru stared. _Who is this woman and what has she done with my mother? _"I understand what you are saying mom. But I think I'd like to deal with this in my own way. Please leave me alone and respect my decision."

Yoshino smiled down at her son. "Like hell I will." She reared her foot back and literally kicked her son in the ass… hard. "Now get your ass up or we're going to be late!" She yelled at him.

_Now there's the evil woman who raised me. _He scrambled to his feet before she could kick him again. "All right, all right, I'm coming." _Women really are scary._

XXXXXXXXXX

Hinata went to the memorial her head held high her face calm and serene. Though her heart was aching she would fulfill her duty as Hyuuga clan head and appear dignified and tranquil in public. It was what her father would have wanted of her.

XXXXXXXXXX

Uchiha Hisa wiped her tears away as fast as she could. She knew her father wouldn't have approved of her crying over him. Ninja were never supposed to shed tears. But losing her dad so suddenly and unexpectedly had been more than she could bear. She was just grateful for all the support she had received from her family. Aunt Mikoto had been over constantly helping her through it, Sasuke had come over a lot too. Even Itachi had visited one time to offer her his condolences.

But uncle Fugaku had not; he had said nothing at all and not visited her. She understood the Hokage had duties that came before personal matters. But her father had loved his brother and the feeling had always seemed to be mutual. She didn't understand why her uncle could not spare her just five minutes of his time to tell her how sorry he was. She would never complain about it or ask him about it, but she would have dearly liked it.

XXXXXXXXXX

Kiba and his sister howled along with their dogs. Alone among all the ninja clans the Inuzuka did not feel shame in admitting their feelings of loss. They mourned openly and loudly.

XXXXXXXXXX

Konohamaru cried. With his uncle gone he was all alone now, the last of the Sarutobi. His academy sensei, Iruka, did what he could to comfort the poor boy."

XXXXXXXXXX

Shino stood placidly during the ceremony. At the proper time he laid down a white flower. He then went home.

XXXXXXXXXX

Ino wailed along with her mother. Chouji fought, and mostly failed, to keep from crying. During the ceremony a light mist came down. Shikamaru complained about the rain getting in his eyes and was forced to keep wiping them.

XXXXXXXXXX

Following the attack all ninja missions and regular duties were cancelled for seven days. This naturally included the Genin tests the new teams would have undergone. Team ten would also need to have a new sensei assigned to them.

The day after the memorial an emergency meeting of the Council of Fire was called by the Hokage. With the deaths of all the previous members the current membership was limited to the heads of those clans who held hereditary seats on the Council. There were currently eight of these; Uchiha, Hyuuga, Sarutobi, Nara, Yamanaka, Akimichi, Inuzuka, and Aburame. By a fluke only the Uchiha representative, Itachi, was above the age of twelve. Sarutobi Konohamaru was only nine and not even an adult.

The meeting was actually being held at the Academy in a small conference room normally used by school administrators and teachers. Returning to the academy Shikamaru had immediately noticed that the heavy security was being provided exclusively by ninja with snakes on their hitai-ites. There was not a single leaf nin there as a guard. _Why is the Hokage putting his faith in ninja who were never loyal to him in the first place? _If he didn't trust the regular Chunin guards or the ANBU why wouldn't he turn to his own clan for protection?

As they sat down in the adult sized chairs it was embarrassingly obvious that only the Hokage and Itachi were (physically) adults. Shikamaru was well aware that he and his classmates had been students here until just days ago. He was certain the Hokage had deliberately picked this location just to remind them of that.

Sitting at the head of the table in his robes Fugaku smiled at them.

_Why do I feel like he's a wolf and we're all fawns? _Shikamaru wondered.

"To begin with," Fugaku spoke. "Let me apologize for the obscene haste with which I summoned you. Please believe me when I say I would not have done so had circumstances not demanded it."

"It does seem logical that we meet at this time given the state of emergency." Shino calmly said.

The Hokage nodded. "Please allow me the privilege of being blunt and coming immediately to the point. As the designated heads of you clans you all bear a serious responsibility in helping to guide and protect this village. Yet due to your ages none of you have any experience at being ninja, let alone leaders."

"I guess we'll have to learn quickly then," Shikamaru said.

Every one of his former classmates looked at him in surprise. In four years none of them could remember him _ever _offering up an answer or an opinion. Seeing him taking the initiative in a meeting with the Hokage was rather shocking.

"Indeed," Fugaku answered. "And just how will you be learning that from performing the usual D-rank missions like weeding or babysitting? For that matter how much confidence will the villagers have seeing their Council members performing such mundane tasks?"

"If you think it's beneath us then don't assign them to us," Kiba growled. He was _not_ used to polite discussions. "Just give us real missions from the start!"

"That would get you all killed," Fugaku said. "You are all inexperienced and so must learn to crawl before you can walk or run."

"Don't underestimate us!" Kiba barked.

"The Hokage is merely making a reasonable observation," Shino noted. "I presume D-rank missions are meant to provide new ninja such as ourselves valuable experience in team building and other essential skills."

Fugaku nodded. "Very true, please do not take my words to be insults, they are not meant to be. I am sure you will all be fine clan heads and council members… some day. But I fear that for right now your inexperience is an insurmountable handicap. And given the situation we are in the village cannot afford to wait as you slowly learn your way." His voice and manner suddenly turned harsh. "We are at war with Akatsuki, and it is quite possible our other enemies may choose to attack us given our state. This crisis _demands_ strong and effective leadership."

Shikamaru frowned. _I don't like where this is headed._

"Wha… what do you me… mean?" Hinata didn't like speaking up, but she felt she had to.

"What I am suggesting," he said forcefully. "Is that you all be given the necessary time to gain vital experience without the added pressure of the Council being added."

"How much time do you view as necessary?" Shino asked.

Fugaku seemed to soften his stance and relax a bit. "I think three years would be sufficient."

"And what would happen to the Council in the meantime?" Shino inquired.

"It would be, temporarily, disbanded. I would rule with budgetary and executive authority."

There were gasps and shock all along the conference table.

No gasp came from Itachi, but he did turn ever so slightly toward the Hokage to send him a mildly questioning look. It wasn't much but Shikamaru noticed it. _He didn't know this was coming. The Hokage didn't trust his own son and heir. That's interesting._

"No way would we do that!" Konohamaru squealed.

"You expect us to just give up our power in the Council?!" Kiba shouted.

"Please stop to think about what is best for the village," Fugaku said. "How much faith will the public have when they realize their government is in the hands of _children_?"

"We're all adults!" Ino snapped and tugged on her hitai-ite.

"Not all of you," Fugaku deliberately glanced at Konohamaru. "And even if the majority of you are adults _legally _you remain children so far as the eye can see."

"If we're old enough to kill we're old enough to do everything else!" Kiba snapped.

"The villagers will not see it that way," Fugaku predicted. "They will only see children in charge in time of crisis. And what of our enemies? What of the other Kages? What will they think?" Fugaku shook his head sadly. "Please understand the situation and agree to step aside for this short time. Otherwise I shall be forced to take other measures to secure the safety of this village."

"What other measures?" Shikamaru asked.

Fugaku looked directly at him. "I will only say I will do whatever I must to maintain the peace and security of the village."

Shikamaru looked into his eyes and measured every word and body movement. He leaned back in his too large chair. "I think I understand," he said quietly.

Fugaku nodded, pleased that his intimidation had worked on the loud talking Nara. _I can see the family resemblance. _

"Hokage-sama," Shino spoke. "Would you be willing to add two conditions to this proposal? Would you agree that in three years time when the Council is recalled we be allowed to pass judgment on your actions? We find them unsatisfactory will you agree to resign and leave office. And will you specifically state that all clan rights and privileges will be respected?"

_Fool! _"Of course I will! I would never dream of interfering with the right so the clans. And if you feel I have not acted in the best interest of Konoha then I will step down and allow you to choose my successor."

Shino slowly nodded. "I am willing to concede that it would be illogical to expect us to have the necessary wisdom to govern when we are so lacking in experience. Subject to these two conditions I will agree to your proposal."

"Splendid! What do the rest of you say?"

"No! No! No!" Konohamaru jumped up. "Can't you guys see what he's doing?!"

"Not just no, but hell no!" Kiba said loudly. Akamaru barked out his agreement.

Hinata faced the Hokage and steadied her nerves. "As Hyuuga clan head my honor will not permit me to surrender our privileges even temporarily. I must vote no."

Ino smiled wickedly and was about to shout an angry no as well when Shikamaru reached out and grabbed her hand. He leaned over and whispered urgently to her. "Ino, you have to vote yes."

She stared at him. "What, why?"

"Because it's the right move for now, sometimes you must sacrifice a piece to win a match."

She looked at him angrily. "What are you talking about you lazy baka?" She whispered heatedly.

"Ino, I am asking you to trust me. Please vote yes."

She had known him and Chouji all her life. Their fathers had been teammates and were lifelong friends. The three of them had often wondered if they'd conspired to get their wives pregnant at the same time just to make their sure their children would end up in the same team together. She knew him better than almost anyone else; he was a lazy, worthless, idiot. But he had always had a good heart and no matter how many times they had fought he had always watched out for her.

She trusted him.

_Shikamaru you had better know what you're talking about. _She looked back at the Hokage. "Yes," she said.

"I vote yes as well," Shikamaru said and looked at Chouji.

Chouji didn't understand, but if Shika thought it was the right thing to do… "Yes," he said.

Smiling Fugaku looked to Itachi.

"I abstain," Itachi announced.

"What was that?" Fugaku demanded.

Itachi looked him directly in the eye and repeated himself in a maddeningly calm voice. "I abstain."

Shikamaru watched as Fugaku's hands curled into fists.

"Well then, by a vote of four to three, the enabling act is passed." Fugaku announced. "The Council will meet again in three years to judge me and my actions. In the meantime I ask all of you to do your utmost to become the great ninja I know you will be."

XXXXXXXXXX

"I'll kill him," Fugaku said in his private quarters in training ground 44. Since the attack he had announced he would be living here for security reasons and in order to gain the trust of Orochimaru's body guards. "I really will kill him! How dare he defy me like that!"

"Yes Hokage-sama," Kabuto replied easily. "Would you like me to take care of it?"

"Don't be a fool, you're no match for Itachi," the Hokage stated. "I'll arrange something for him." The Hokage calmed a bit. "Besides Itachi's little insolence it all went too easily."

"Well what would you expect? You were facing children."

Fugaku smiled. "I actually enjoyed Shino's little addendum to my proposal. The Aburame have such a ridiculous faith in the rule of law. The Council of Fire will never meet again. In three years time no Leaf nin will _dare _think to give me advice, never mind judge me." He looked at his favorite spy. "Leave me now."

Kabuto nodded and vanished.

Fugaku performed a complex jutsu.

XXXXXXXXXX

In Pein's secret base at astral projection appeared. "Report," Pein commanded.

"The Council has been disbanded," the Hokage said gleefully. "I am now the sole authority in Konoha. Soon I will begin to change this village to my liking."

Pein nodded. "Change it however you like, so long as you continue to serve the needs of this organization."

"Of courssssse," Fugaku said with a wide smile. "You have my every loyalty."


	28. Against the power of my sharingan…

As the other Council members filed out Itachi remained seated.

"Do you want something?" Fugaku asked with obvious annoyance.

"Mother wishes to know if you will be returning home tonight. She misses you, as does Sasuke."

"And you?"

Itachi simply looked at him.

"Heh, tell your mother I intend to stay in Orochimaru's old base for the foreseeable future. It is the most secure location in Konoha and I feel safest there."

Itachi lifted a single eyebrow a fraction of an inch. "You feel more secure surrounded by Orochimaru's mercenaries than you do with your own clan? That is not like you father. I find it very strange that you have not returned home since the attack. I also find it quite odd that you have not paid a call on Hisa, I believe that you should."

_Arrogant whelp! _"Do not think to tell your Hokage what he should do! You may leave me now."

Itachi came to his feet. "Hokage-sama."

Fugaku stared at his back as he left. _You are much too inquisitive Itachi. The sooner you are dead the better._

XXXXXXXXXX

As Itachi left he was surprised to find someone out in the hall waiting for him.

"Excuse me," Shikamaru said. "While it's sort of troublesome do you think I could ask you a few questions?"

Though surprised Itachi nodded. "If you like."

XXXXXXXXXX

A little later Shikamaru was alone in his room sitting on his bed. His eyes were closed and his hands were forming an, 'O.' he spent forty minutes in this position carefully considering all the evidence and all the possible outcomes from any potential action taken. Normally when he was formulating a plan he needed no more than a few minutes. But in this case almost every scenario ended with the same result. Death.

He was forced to consider more and more radical solutions to the problem. Finally he came up with a plan that he thought _might _work. It was extremely dangerous and had only about a 20 percent chance of success. But it was the best answer he could come up with. The only alternative seemed to be to just do nothing and let things take their course. He rejected that possibility. Despite outward appearances he cared a great deal about his home and the people around him. He was also unwilling to let his father's death and the deaths of all the others go unpunished.

His plan now made he opened his eyes and climbed down off his bed. He had to make some phone calls.

XXXXXXXXXX

The following day Itachi was on patrol within the village. He was on the outskirts near the local dumping ground. He came to an abrupt halt. He was in his ANBU armor and cloak and had his raven's mask on.

"You can come out now," he called loudly. "There is no point in hiding. I sensed your chakra signatures awhile ago. I was just waiting to get to an unpopulated area." He shut his eyes, when he opened them again the sharingan was active.

"You are good," a male voice answered. "But you'll still fall."

Three ninja landed around him. One had bandages over his face and much of his body. One was a young woman with long dark hair. The other was a man with an unnerving smile and a shirt with, 'Death' stamped on it. All of them wore the snake hitai-ite.

Itachi carefully eyed all three of them before speaking. "What do you want of me?"

"Your death!" The one with the strange smile shouted. He lifted up his arms as though aiming them. A torrent of condensed sound shot out of both palms. The force struck Itachi and he was consumed in an explosion.

"Ha! What a wimp!" Zaku shouted in triumph. "You would have thought an ANBU captain would have at least been a challenge!"

Dosu looked on nervously. "It couldn't be this easy."

"What are you talking about? We…" Zaku tried to walk over to his teammate only to find his feet rooted to the spot. Looking down he saw he was sinking into the earth. "Hey!"

"What's going on?" Kin shouted as she too was being pulled down as though in quicksand.

"This has to be some sort of jutsu!" Dosu shouted. He was already down past his knees.

The three of them continued to struggle helplessly until they were pulled down all the way to their necks, helpless and unable to move.

"Did my father _really _believe that you three would be able to defeat me?" Itachi appeared before them and took out his sword. "He either vastly overestimated your strengths or vastly underestimated my own."

In reality the three of them were just standing there in front of him. None of them having realized they'd been caught in a genjutsu. He began to leisurely approach Kin.

"Wait! What are you…" She was still trying to talk as he cut off her head. Next he went over to Zaku.

"No! Please, no!" Without comment Itachi took his head as well.

He then cleaned his sword with a rag before re-sheathing it. "You seem to have been the leader and the most intelligent one here. Please tell me why my father ordered you to kill me."

Dosu stared back at him with his sole visible eye. "You're wrong we had no orders. We did this on our own."

Itachi calmly looked at him with his strange red eyes. As Dosu watched he felt himself growing dizzy and his body seemed to be slipping away somehow. Through this he heard Itachi's voice. "You should know something. Against the power of my sharingan you are nothing."

When Dosu felt his senses come back to him he found himself in some colorless world. He was bound to a cross with a hundred Itachis standing before him. All with their swords out.

"What is this?!" Dosu cried out.

"This is Tsukuyomi, the nightmare realm. Here, in this place, I control time, space, and even matter. Now I ask you again, why my father ordered you to kill me?"

"You're wrong there was no order." At that answer the Itachi right in front of him stabbed him in the belly. Then one by one all the Itachis came forward to stab him in a different place. "Yaaaaah!!"

"I will torture you until you reveal to me everything you know and answer all my questions," Itachi spoke in the same polite voice. "I have seventy two hours with which to torture you. Only one second has passed here in this realm. Seventy one hours, fifty nine minutes, and fifty nine seconds remain."

Dosu was suddenly healed again and again surrounded by waiting Itachis. Though healed the memory of being stabbed multiple times was fresh.

"Please tell me why my father ordered you to kill me."

"There… there was no order."

Without comment the Itachis began to stab him again and again.

"Seventy one hours, fifty nine minutes, and fifty eight seconds remain."

Panting and shaking Dosu again found himself surrounded and healed.

"Please tell me why my father ordered you to kill me."

XXXXXXXXXX

When Itachi eventually ended the technique Dosu fell wordlessly to the ground. Not wanting to clean his sword again Itachi chose to end his life by driving a kunai into his single eye.

XXXXXXXXXX

"I wish to talk to you."

At the sound of that cool emotionless voice Shikamaru's eyes popped open. He had not sensed Itachi's presence at all. Having made all his phone calls he'd come out to his favorite hill to relax. He didn't have anything better to do right now.

He carefully sat up to look at the lethal ninja towering over him. "Did you get my message from Sasuke?"

Itachi frowned. "I am not aware of any message."

"I am throwing a special party tonight for my classmates and my fellow council members, it's to help us remember the loss we suffered and to get on with things. I was hoping you would come."

"I have no interest in parties."

Shikamaru hesitated. _Will he listen or will he arrest me as soon as I talk? _"I plan on talking to the Council members tonight; the party is just a ruse."

"I see."

Shikamaru stared at him. _It's no good; I can't get any kind of read on him. I have no idea what he's thinking. _"If Sasuke didn't talk to you why are you here?"

"You are suspicious of my father. Your questions following the meeting make that clear. Why?"

"I would be suspicious of anyone who uses such a tragedy to try and gain greater personal power."

Itachi eyed him for a time. "Is there any other reason?"

"After talking to you and you telling me about his recent behavior, yeah there is." Shikamaru looked at the man calmly. He was taking his life in his hands, but for the plan to work he needed Itachi's help otherwise it was pointless anyway. "I believe the Hokage is Orochimaru in disguise." Shikamaru waited to see how Itachi would react.

Itachi nodded. "Yes, I have recently discovered this."

Shikamaru let out a breath he didn't realize he was holding. "O.k., one major hurdle passed. How did you find out?"

"There was a recent attempt on my life by three of the bodyguards. I tortured one and learned that the entire attack had been orchestrated by Orochimaru with the support of Akatsuki. His objective was to somehow steal my father's body and eliminate all serious opposition to his leadership within the village."

"Wait! You mean Orochimaru is actually using Fugaku's body? I'd assumed it was some high level henge or illusion."

"I see that academy instruction is not what it used to be," Itachi commented. "Any active jutsu gives off chakra resonance which can be sensed by ninja. These can be disguised, but never completely suppressed. That is why henges are useful against civilians or ordinary guards but worse than useless against other ninja who can sense them. Were Orochimaru using a jutsu to disguise himself he would be quickly found out."

"I see," Shikamaru said slowly. "That means DNA tests or a physical search won't reveal him as a fake. Physically he **is** Fugaku." Shikamaru thought about it. "If Ino or another Yamanaka were to search his mind that would prove who he was."

"They would not be believed," Itachi said with certainty. "Most especially my clan would see it as nothing but an attempt to remove the Uchiha from the leadership position. In any case should someone attempt to use a jutsu on him they would be killed immediately for attacking the Hokage no matter what they claimed."

Shikamaru frowned. "I… I don't suppose you'd be willing to try and kill him? It would probably be a suicide mission."

"I would gladly give my life to kill him," Itachi said. "Unfortunately I no longer believe that to be possible. His attempt on my life proves he is suspicious of me and sees me as a threat. I am certain he will not meet alone with me again and he will be under heavy guard from this point forward. I might manage to kill him even so, but the odds would be about one in a hundred."

Following the attack Itachi had reported it to the ANBU. The assumption was that three of Orochimaru's former men had simply decided to go rogue. Itachi did not share what he knew with his superiors for the very good reason he had no idea which of them belonged to Orochimaru. The ANBU could not be trusted. He expected there would be another attempt on his life but probably not immediately.

"One percent chance of success huh? I guess we'll have to go with my original plan then. Unless, I don't suppose you could convince the Uchiha that this is true?"

"Unfortunately, I have the reputation within my clan of being a bit, 'unstable.' Were I to claim that my father was now possessed by the spirit of Orochimaru I would not be believed."

"Great," he muttered.

"You mentioned you had a plan?"

Shikamaru nodded. "That's right I have a plan, and you play the biggest part in it. You and Hinata."


	29. Shikamaru's plan

He'd called Ino and told her he wanted to throw a party. That was all he needed to do as she immediately offered her whole hearted support. She was always willing to offer her whole hearted support when it came to a good party. He mentioned to her that he wanted her to bring her clan seal with her when she came over. He let Ino invite their other classmates and handle the details while he concentrated on the Council members.

XXXXXXXXXX

"I have some booze hidden in my room," he said.

"All right!" Kiba said. "I'm so there!"

"Great, remember to bring your clan seal with you."

XXXXXXXXXX

"My father has a collection of some exotic insects he found while on missions. Maybe you could take a look at them for me and identify them?"

"I would be most willing to do so." Shino answered.

"Thanks, oh and could you bring your clan seal with you?"

XXXXXXXXXX

"Free food."

"YEAH! I'll be over early!" Chouji said.

"Good," Shikamaru hoped the sudden deafness was only temporary. "Bring your clan seal with you o.k.?"

XXXXXXXXXX

All the Council members save Itachi showed up to enjoy the loud music, food, and drink. Then at the proper moment he went over one by one and asked them to come upstairs to his room. There Itachi was waiting for them. He asked them all to listen to what the ANBU captain had to say and locked the door.

Itachi spoke and told them of the Hokage's strange behavior, the attempt on his life, and of everything he learned following his interrogation of his prisoner. As he spoke the faces of the children listening to him grew paler and paler. When he finished they were all staring at him.

"No way," Ino muttered. "No way, the Hokage is really Orochimaru?" She began to shiver.

"Grrrr," Kiba's fists clenched. "He killed our parents! Let's kill the bastard!"

"What? You mean the eight of us?" Shikamaru asked. "Even with Itachi we wouldn't have much of a chance. He's a Sannin with a couple hundred body guards, some of them with curse seals."

"Don't play dumb you lazy jerk!" Kiba barked at him. "I mean with everyone! We'll get our clans and slaughter him and all of his body guards too."

"Oh I see," Shikamaru said. "You're going to go in front of everyone and tell them that Fugaku is actually dead and the person whose been acting as Hokage is just Fugaku's body being controlled by Orochimaru's spirit. Yeah, good luck convincing them and getting them to commit treason based on _that._"

Kiba began to growl but Shino spoke up. "Shikamaru is correct, we cannot expect to be believed without significant evidence." He looked to Itachi. "Would you be willing to speak as a witness to the clans?"

"I thought about that possibility," Shikamaru said. "But the Uchiha clan likely won't believe him. If his own clan discredits him I doubt most people would be willing to accept his story." He looked at all of them with a serious expression that seemed odd with the last uncaring boy most of them were familiar with. "The bottom line is being kids it'll be almost impossible to convince our clans to commit treason by revolting against the man they see as the legitimate Hokage. And if we try convincing them Orochimaru is bound to find out quick. We'll end up dead or in prison or maybe in an insane asylum. No, I'm afraid organizing a revolt with any chance of success is impossible right now."

"Then what the hell are we going to do?" Kiba demanded. "Nothing?!"

Shikamaru rolled his eyes. "I wouldn't have brought you all here if I didn't have a plan."

"Then what do you have in mind?" Chouji asked.

"Hinata," he suddenly said, catching her and everyone else by surprise.

"Ye… yes?"

"Why do you have a sword on your hip?"

Hinata began to press her fingers together nervously as all eyes turned to her.

"Huh, didn't she always wear one?" Kiba asked.

"I do not believe so," Shino said. "Though I admit I am not completely certain."

"I don't _think _she did." Ino said with uncertainty. Hinata just didn't make a very strong impression.

"The first time she ever wore it was our last day at the academy when the team assignments were announced." Shikamaru said. "She's had it on ever since; I even noticed she had it when she attended the memorial service."

"I… I didn't think any… anyone had noticed."

Shikamaru shrugged. "I'm lazy but very observant. For instance I notice your sword is about eighteen inches long with a slight curve to it, the sheath is obviously made of fine leather, and the handle looks to be inlaid with ivory. Could you show me the blade?"

She nodded slightly and took her sword and held it out. Looking closely he nodded.

"It's as I thought, that's a wakizashi isn't it?"

"Ye… yes it is."

"What's a wakizashi?" Chouji asked.

"It is a short bladed companion sword to a katana," Itachi answered. "Extremely sharp and lethal, only an expert blacksmith who has been specially trained would be able to forge one. Such swords are exceedingly rare."

"Well trust the Hyuuga to only get the best." Ino said.

"The Hyuuga clan do not normally fight with weapons, they prefer to rely on the gentle fist fighting style almost exclusively, right Hinata?" Shikamaru asked.

"Ye… yes that's cor… correct."

"Which brings me back to my original question, why do you have that sword on your hip?"

Her face began to turn a dark red and she again began pressing her fingers together. "It's… it's… a gi…"

"It was a graduation gift from your fiancé wasn't it?" Shikamaru stated. The betrothal between Hyuuga and Uzumaki had not been a secret. Most of them had heard about it, and then forgotten. "My dad told me about Uzumaki Kushina, she used a katana. That sword was sent to you from Naruto of Suna."

"Yes," she said quietly. "This was a gift from Naruto-kun."

"Ooh!" Ino said excitedly. "That's right! I'd totally forgotten, you're actually engaged to the Yondaime's son aren't you?"

Kiba snorted. "Well that's if you believe the story about that certificate."

"Uncle Asuma wouldn't have lied!" Konohamaru yelled.

"Personal opinion doesn't really matter," Shikamaru said calmly. "What matters is that _most _people in and out of Konoha _do _believe him to be Namikaze Minato's legitimate heir. And virtually everyone seems to accept he is the Yondaime's biological son. The Namikaze clan has been reestablished in Suna and every nation but ours has acknowledged it as legitimate."

"Well that's really nice for Hinata," Ino said. "But what does that have to do with us?"

"Namikaze is the single most revered name in this village." Shikamaru stated. "The Yondaime's memory is beloved even now after all this time. I'm sure most people in this village would be overjoyed to have another Namikaze on the throne."

"Shikamaru, what exactly are you plotting?" Ino asked him. _Since when is this lazy bum so deceptive and clever?_

"Did everyone bring their seals?"

They all nodded and produced the clan seals.

"All right then, I hereby call an emergency session of the Council of Fire. I have two proposals. First I ask that we declare the current Hokage to be formally deposed and stripped of all authority and titles."

"Can we do that?" Chouji gasped.

"We can, but only if the vote is unanimous," Shikamaru declared. "So, by show of hands, who says yes?"

Every hand rose.

"Good, then I declare the Fifth Hokage to be deposed and the position of Hokage to now be vacant. As is our right as Council we must now choose his successor. My second proposal is that we offer the position of Sixth Hokage to Namikaze Naruto."

"What? Shikamaru you moron he's not even a Leaf nin!" Ino yelled at him.

"That's right!" Kiba growled. "He's a Suna ninja, he _can't _be Hokage!"

"Actually there's nothing in the constitution that says the Hokage has to be a Leaf nin or even a citizen of Konoha. The first two Hokages weren't even born here while Naruto was. Since he was born here he _technically _isn't a foreigner."

"Why in the hell would you want him to be Hokage instead of someone from here?" Kiba argued.

"Because I think if there were a foreign army at the gates led by the Yondamie's son claiming it was here to liberate Konoha from Orochimaru's control the people would accept that."

They stared at him again.

"You want to raise a foreign army to attack Konoha? Shika that really is treason!" Ino said horrified.

"Does that mean to be loyal we have to support the man who murdered our parents as he slowly corrupts and poisons out village?" Shikamaru asked. "I know how this sounds, and to be honest I have no idea if it's even possible. I don't know what Naruto will think or if he will even help us. I also don't know what kind of pull he and his clan have in Suna and if they even can help us. But this is the best hope we have given the situation we're in. A foreign invasion from without coupled with an uprising from within to overthrow the Hokage and liberate our village." He looked at them all seriously. "Ino's right, this is treason. If anyone finds out about any of this we'll be dead. Along with putting our signatures and seals on the two decrees we just passed I want all of us to sign a pledge to Naruto swearing to support him if he does come here and become Hokage."

"What if it turns out this Naruto guy is worse than Orochimaru?" Kiba asked.

"Then I'll consider that proof that the kamis all hate us," Shikamaru said. "I doubt anything will happen immediately, it will probably take years for this to bear fruit, if it ever does."

"And what are we supposed to do for years?" Kiba barked.

"Work our asses off to become the great ninja and clan heads the Hokage said he wanted us to be." Shikamaru said. "We need to appear loyal while doing everything we can to keep our clans as independent as we can. I don't doubt things will get a whole lot worse before they get better, but if Orochimaru suspects us at all he'll crush us before we have a chance to move against him. We have to fight like ninja, with secrecy and deception, that's our only hope."

"What happens if this Naruto wants nothing to do with us?" Kiba asked.

"Then we'll act on our own once we have real control of our clans and things have gotten bad enough to make people ready to revolt. But hopefully we'll have outside help. We'll all be depending on you to win him over Hinata."

"M… me?"

"That's right, you'll be our emissary to him and bring him our documents and explain the situation to him. I mean who better than his fiancé? The girl he sent a wakizashi to."

"You… you want me to go to him in Suna?" The thought excited her and scared the hell out of her, both at once. "You want me to go… go all alone?"

"You will not be alone," Itachi stated. "I will go with you as an escort and in order to protect myself from future attempts on my life."

"You are both going to have to become missing nin I'm afraid." Shikamaru said. "But once you get to Suna you can start telling everyone all about how you both suspect the Hokage to be Orochimaru in disguise and how he deliberately killed the previous Council. Those rumors will make it back here no matter how hard The Hokage tries to stamp them out. Hopefully they can help set the scene for an eventual revolt and let folks start to at least suspect the truth." He looked at the timid girl closely. "Will you do it Hinata? I know I'm asking a lot, but you are our best chance of winning his support. We'll all be putting our lives into your hands, yours and Itachi's. If anyone sees the documents we give you then we're all dead. And in a greater sense the fate of this entire village will rest with you. So, will you do it?"

"I…" she swallowed and shut her eyes. "I will do it."

"Good, now let's hurry up and get these documents written up, signed, and sealed. You and Itachi will need to leave two nights from now. And once you go you have to make it no matter what or it's the chopping block for all of us."

She nodded. "I know, I will make it to him and try to convince Naruto-kun to help us." Even though she knew her life would be in serious danger and the fate of all Konoha rested with her she found herself nervously wondering if Naruto would be _really_ happy to see her.

XXXXXXXXXX

Omake

Naruto had returned home only a few hours ago and the welcome home party had just wound down. "I can't wait to show everyone just how much I've learned! I have some totally awesome jutsus that are amazing."

Gaara looked at him. "I am glad to hear that brother, but I doubt anything you have learned could defeat my ultimate defense."

Annoyed Naruto looked at him and frowned. "Sure I could!"

"Well Gaara, Naruto, why don't we have a little demonstration right now in the courtyard?" Kushina asked.

Both boys readily agreed.

XXXXXXXXXX

Outside the entire household watched as Naruto tried to overcome Gaara's defense.

"Rasengan!" A sphere of glowing swirling chakra materialized in his palm and he launched himself at his opponent.

Gaara stood his ground and did not flinch. A solid wall of sand denser and stronger than steel appeared between them. Though the rasengan did bore into the sand more sand materialized behind to prevent an actual break through. In the end the energy of the jutsu was exhausted.

"I told you that there is no possible way that you could have learned anything that could defeat my ultimate defense." Gaara spoke casually.

Naruto looked at him with a grim resoplve iot to be upstaged on this of all days. I have no choice, I guess it'll have to be that jutsu. "I'm sorry Gaara, but I'm not losing to you, prepare to be totally defeated." Naruto began going through some hand signs. "Oiroke no Jutsu!"

There was a large puff of smoke. When it cleared there was what looked like a teenage version of Matsuri standing there. 'She' had three scars on each cheek, breasts that rivaled Tsunade's, and not a single stitch of clothing. 'Matsuri' looked at Gaara with naughty eyes and a single finger touching 'her' lips. "I loooooove you Gaara-sempai." Matsuri gave him a wink.

Gaara stood there calmly staring a moment. Then blood gushed from his nose and he collapsed.

Then blood gushed from Michio.

From Kakashi.

From Shinzou.

And from Saishu.

All the males present pitched forward unconscious.

"Mommy look! Naruto has boobies! Can I get boobies too?" Miwa said excitedly.

Kushina stared in horror. "Tsunade?"

"Yes?"

"Get the salt."


	30. Hold on tightly

**Author's Notes: **Just want to clarify something about the Omake from the previous chapter. A lot of people have asked me what the salt referred to. It's a reference to some lines from chapter 25.

"Oh, and one more thing Jiraiya. If my son comes back a pervert I… will… skin… you."

"And then I'll dip you in a barrel of salt," Tsunade added menacingly.

Also, while I have the chance I'd like to inform everyone that in _this _story Itachi does _not _know Uchiha Madara. At this moment he has no knowledge of or connection to Madara or Akatsuki.

XXXXXXXXXX

Zabuza and Haku were approaching the warehouse by the docks where their payment was waiting. Zabuza had his huge sword on his back and a cloth sack in his right hand. The job hadn't been too difficult. The bridge builder had hired a squad of Leaf nin to protect him, but obviously hadn't had the money for anything but a run of the mill unit. He'd given them one chance to run away and save themselves after he'd shown them who they'd be up against. They chose to stay and fight. Zabuza had admired their courage but didn't think much of their judgment.

Five minutes later he'd killed the Chunin and the three teenage Genin and fulfilled his contract.

XXXXXXXXXX

They entered the vast warehouse. There were huge stacks of wooden crates to all sides. They divided up the huge area into an odd assortment of, 'aisles' of various lengths and widths. At the far end of one of these was his employer flanked by a pair of bodyguards. _I wonder if this will be the easy way or hard way. _Zabuza thought.

"So is it done?" Gato called out.

"See for yourself," Zabuza gave the sack a few spins and then sent it flying.

It hit the concrete floor and took a few bounces before one of the guards got a hold of it. Opening it up the guard reached in and yanked out the head that was inside. He held it out for Gato's inspection. The billionaire looked closely for a moment, as though considering a piece of ripe fruit. He finally gave a satisfied nod. The guard then tossed the head away like a piece of garbage.

"Damn loud mouth drunk," Gato said. "He should have just kept his mouth shut, everyone would have been better off." He nodded towards Zabuza and Haku. "Good job."

"Glad to hear you're satisfied. Now if you'd just pay me my ten million our business will be concluded."

"You know about that," Gato spoke with a slight grin. "I've been thinking, ten million is way too much."

Sighing Zabuza pulled his sword out while Haku silently readied his senbons. _Looks like it'll be the hard way. What a surprise. _"If your negotiation skills suck that's not my problem," Zabuza announced. "Ten million is what we agreed to."

Gato scoffed. "One drunken old bridge builder's not worth that sort of money."

"You didn't feel that way when he was still alive."

"Well _I _think we need to renegotiate." At a signal from Gato armed men poured out from behind the crates. There were at least a hundred of them. All of them smiling and eager to play. They soon had the two missing nin surrounded.

Neither Zabuza nor Haku looked the least bit surprised. "You're making one hell of a mistake Gato. Pay me what you owe me and I'll just walk away. Trust me; you won't be happy with the alternative."

"I'm a reasonable man Zabuza, a businessman, and I'm willing to pay you for services rendered." Gato brought out a leather case. "You can have 250,000 ryu, take that and be happy with it. Then maybe I'll have more work for you in the future."

"I don't renegotiate after the job's done."

The hired swordsmen began to laugh and inch closer.

"That your final word?" Gato asked.

"Pay me what you owe me Gato," Zabuza growled. "Or I swear on all nine hells that I'll gut you like a fish."

Gato laughed and shook his head. "Kill them both."

The men shouted and rushed in. In a flash Zabuza swung his sword about and three heads were separated from their bodies. Haku moved with speed and precision sending senbons into throats and unprotected eyes. Men collapsed and struggled as they died. Fifteen men went down before some of them finally managed to get close enough to connect with their weapons. When they did both Zabuza and Haku dissolved into water.

"What the hell is this?" A suddenly worried Gato yelled.

In answer a mocking laughter descended. Gato and all the rest looked up towards the rafters. "Did you _really _think I would trust you? The Demon of the Mist is no one's fool!" Both Zabuza and Haku were standing among the iron crossbeams. As everyone below watched Zabuza ran through some hand signs. The entire warehouse floor was abruptly filled with a thick mist.

Again they heard his cruel laughter. Men who had been confident only minutes before were suddenly looking around in desperate panic. They literally could not see a foot in front of their eyes.

"I want Gato alive for now," Zabuza's voice rang out. "Kill the rest."

"Yes, Zabuza-sama," a boyish voice replied.

Men immediately began to scream.

XXXXXXXXXX

Gato ran. He forgot about his money and his guards. His only thought was to save his own precious hide. He knew where the back entrance was. His private yacht was waiting at a pier just a few blocks away. All he had to do was get out of here and get to his boat.

He knew the way out, but as he ran in the damn fog he kept running into walls of crates. He kept turning around and running trying desperately to figure out where the exit was. But no matter where he turned he kept running into dead ends. _Where is it?! Where the hell is the way out?! This can't be happening! Not to me! _He felt like a rat in a maze.

All of a sudden he stopped running. He stopped moving. He'd just noticed something, the screams had all stopped. There was no sound at all except for his own labored breath.

Then he heard laughter.

"Do you still want to renegotiate?"

"There… there's no need for this Zabuza," Gato called out pleadingly. "Let's be reasonable. You know how wealthy I am, I'm sure we can reach some kind of accommodation."

"Fine," Zabuza answered. "The price is a hundred million."

"For Tazuna?"

"No, it's a hundred million for _your _life."

Gato slowly nodded and felt some hope he might live through this. "All right, it's a deal. Just let me go and you'll have your money within 24 hours."

"Well sure I'll let you go," Zabuza said in a friendly voice. "I can trust you right?" There was a slight pause. "Haku, show him what happens to people who break their contracts with us."

"Yes, Zabuza-sama."

In an instant Gato was down on the hard floor crying out in pain. There were senbons sticking out of his back, arms, and legs. The rain was excruciating. "Yaaaagh!!"

"You know you'd never think it, but the kid's actually better at inflicting pain than I am. I always end up going overboard and killing the person too quick. But Haku's like a surgeon. He knows exactly how to inflict the maximum amount of harm while avoiding the major arteries and organs." He sounded rather proud.

Gato noticed the mist lifting. He soon saw Zabuza and Haku just sitting on some nearby crates not twenty feet away. Zabuza's hands and sword were drenched in blood.

"You… you don't… want to… kill me," Gato sputtered though his agony.

"You know, I'm thinking I really, really do."

"If… if I die the… hunter nin will… be contacted."

"Oh, but if I let you go you'll promise not to call them right?" Zabuza leaned back. "Tell you what; if you have my ten million I'll consider not killing you."

"I… I only brought the… 250,000 I was… never going to pay… ten million."

Zabuza stood up and lifted his sword over his shoulder. He calmly walked over to where Gato was quivering on the floor. "That's o.k. I was never going to let you live anyway. You were dead the second you double crossed me. Now then, I believe I said I as going to gut you?"

"Wait I…"

Before Gato could say any more Zabuza brought his sword down and gutted him.

XXXXXXXXXX

Back in their base Zabuza was staring furiously at a huge pile of cash and jewels. After killing Gato they had robbed him before going back to collect the case. Just to be thorough they had robbed the other bodies as well. All together the take had been a little under about 300,000 ryu.

"It was all for nothing!" Zabuza growled.

"We did still make a profit," Haku said. "Surely for the time spent this was a success?"

Haku had a point. Even if it was far less than what had been agreed to three hundred thousand for a month's work was pretty good no matter how you looked at it. "It's not enough damn it!" Zabuza growled. "With that ten million I could have just _started _top have a decent war chest, and begun thinking about my return. This is plenty for us sure, but it doesn't begin to pay for a revolution."

Haku went over to a small cage to feed Mr. Fluffy some leaves and carrots. Haku was not worried or frustrated by the situation. His only dream was to help Zabuza-sama achieve his dreams. Obstacles and difficulties did not matter to him just so long as they continued to make progress. "Where shall we go from here?" Haku asked. "With Gato dead we will not be able to remain here long."

"I know," Zabuza said. He clasped his hands and began to plot their next move. "It'll take years to get enough money with the hunter nin chasing us. Especially when the word gets out I killed Gato. Clients won't care he tried to cheat me, they'll be scared off. Perhaps it's time to try something different."

"What do you mean Zabuza-sama?"

"The Hokage offered a blanket amnesty to any missing nin who would come and serve Orochimaru. Maybe we should go to Konoha and take him up on the offer." (Obviously the news of Orochimaru's death had not yet made it out to Wave country.)

Haku looked at his master with great surprise. "Zabuza-sama, are you giving up on your dream of becoming Mizukage?"

Zabuza laughed, "Of course not, but more than one road can lead me there. Let's go to Konoha and get to know the Hokage and Orochimaru. Maybe we can convince them to support me and put me on the throne. After all it would be to their benefit to have a friend in control of one of the five great villages."

XXXXXXXXXX

Itachi quietly stepped into his father's empty study. He placed a plain envelop on his desk addressed to him.

XXXXXXXXXX

He entered his little bother's room. He was dressed in his ANBU uniform.

"You going on patrol Aniki?" Sasuke asked.

"I am going on a very important mission," Itachi answered. He looked at Sasuke with concern. "Sasuke I want you to do everything you can to become a powerful ninja. Work hard to attain the greatness I know that is inside you."

Sasuke smiled up confidently. "You know I will! Some day I will be an even greater ninja than you big brother!"

Itachi nodded. "I am sure you will," he said quietly. He then did something he had not done in years. He reached out and gently patted his younger brother's head. "Whatever happens Sasuke know that whatever I have done and whatever I do is for your sake and for mother's. I love you both very much. To protect you both I would commit any crime and make any sacrifice. Please never forget that."

Sasuke was amazed at his brother's sudden concern. "I won't, I promise. Aniki are you going on a dangerous mission?"

"Yes," Itachi said. "But don't be worry for me little brother, a ninja accepts his fate no matter what it is." With that Itachi quietly left a very nervous Sasuke.

XXXXXXXXXX

"You're leaving on a mission? For how long?" Mikoto sounded unhappy. Since her husband had become Hokage he kept their son close by. Now suddenly he was leaving again.

"It will likely be for some time," Itachi said calmly. "That is why I wanted to say goodbye."

"Why didn't you mention this sooner?"

"Security," he answered. Then Itachi did something he had not done since he was a small boy. He hugged his mother and placed a kiss on her cheek. "I love you kaasan."

"I love you son," his mother answered nervously. While she was happy at the display of feelings this was not like her son. "Is something wrong?"

He released her and stepped back. "A great deal is wrong mother, but I will do everything in my power to right it."

With that he quickly left.

XXXXXXXXXX

She was looking through all the pictures Naruto had sent her. She bound them together with a rubber band and put them in a pocket in her bulky jacked besides his letters. She couldn't bear to leave them behind. Along with the wakizashi he'd sent her his letters and photos were her most treasured possession.

She was dressed like always as she headed downstairs. Itachi had warned her to do nothing that would attract attention before leaving. She did not have her back pack or anything else on her beyond her normal equipment. She walked calmly through the mansion and had almost gotten to the front door when a curious voice held her up.

"Are you going somewhere Lady Hinata?" Neji asked in that cool polite way of his.

She gave him a nervous smile. "I… I'm going for a… a walk."

"Is it not rather late for a walk?" He questioned.

She began to feel her pulse rising and knew her face was getting darker. "I… I… just feel like one ri… right now."

Neji looked at her knowingly and a slight grin touched his lips. "You are lying; it's obvious from your body language. What are you really up to, hmmm? Don't tell me you're sneaking off to see a boy, that would be disgraceful."

He was actually correct. She _was _sneaking off to see a boy. The boy just happened to live in another country.

"_We're placing all our lives in your hands."_ Shikamaru had said. She had accepted this awful responsibility and she could _not _fail.

Hinata took a deep breath and deliberately squared her shoulders as she faced her cousin. She then spoke imitating her father. "Do you _dare _question me Neji? It is not your place to question _anything _I may so or do. Go to your room and meditate on your actions, you are not to leave your room or speak to anyone until morning."

She saw him stiffen and anger flash into his eyes. It was all she could do not to flinch. He gave her an exaggerated bow. "Hai, Hinata-sama, forgive me for momentarily forgetting my place." He then turned and stormed off in the direction of his room.

_I'm very sorry Neji, I hope you understand. _She hurried out of the Hyuuga estates.

XXXXXXXXXX

Hinata met Itachi at a spot not far from the wall. He put on his raven's mask as he spoke to her. "It will be fastest if you climb on my back."

"Ye… yes," she said timidly. He knelt down and she climbed on.

"Hold on tightly, and whatever happens don't let go." Itachi performed some hand signs.

The two of them vanished in a swirl of wind and leaves.


	31. Welcome to Wind country

"What do you mean Itachi and Hinata are missing?" The Hokage asked furiously.

The ANBU in front of him in the bear mask appeared nervous. "My apologies Hokage-sama, it was not noticed they were missing until just a few hours ago. Itachi did not arrive for his duty shift, while Hinata failed to meet her team for training. When we were contacted we of course conducted an immediate investigation. Hyuuga Hinata was last seen the previous evening leaving the estate to go for a walk. Uchiha Itachi meanwhile informed both his mother and father that he was going on a mission. Also, we found this on your desk Hokage-sama." The ANBU handed over a plain envelope addressed to the Hokage.

Fugaku took the envelope and quickly ripped it open. Inside was a piece of paper with a simple message only five words long.

_I know who you are._

The Hokage crumpled it in his fist. "Itachi and Hinata are both declared missing nin. They are to be killed on sight."

"Killed?" The ANBU gasped. "Your own son?"

"He is NOT my son!" The Hokage shouted. "He is a traitor! He and the Hyuuga girl are traitors and they will be killed! Do you dare question me?!"

"No Hokage-sama!" The ANBU answered immediately.

"Send out the hunter nins and as many ANBU units as can be spared. I want them tracked down and killed no matter the cost!"

"Hokage-sama," the ANBU hesitated. "They have likely been out of the village at least twelve hours now. Wherever they are going we will not be able to catch them before they reach it."

"Then catch them after they reach it! I don't care so long as they die!" The Hokage took a deep breath and calmed himself a bit. "No doubt they will be trying to spread wild stories about me in a pathetic attempt to harm my reputation. Tell my people that whatever lies they spread are not to be repeated! I don't want any poisonous rumors going about."

"Hai Hokage-sama," the ANBU left to carry out his orders. He did wonder though why the Hokage would care about something so trivial.

XXXXXXXXXX

Fugaku opened up his fist to stare venomously at the little wad of paper. With a minor jutsu he lit it on fire just to be sure. He knew that was pointless, even if someone else should somehow get it what would they make of the message?

But Orochimaru understood better than most the power of rumors and innuendo. How minds could be shaped and altered with stories. _I never should have relied on Dosu and those incompetents! I should have sent the Snake Five. _Well he would use them now. Along with the hunter nin and ANBU they would be going out as well.

For the first time he also wondered as to how Hinata fit into this. Why had Itachi brought her into his confidence? It seemed clear she had gone willingly. There was nothing to suggest she was forced into accompanying him. _Does Itachi somehow plan to try and use Hyuuga against me?_ A smile touched his face. He would deal with Hyuuga and render it no threat.

XXXXXXXXXX

Hinata was still holding on as they flew through the trees. Itachi had kept the same break neck pace all night and into the day.

"We will stop soon," Itachi announced. "Do you have rations with you? If not you may share mine."

"I have some ration bars with me," Hinata answered quietly.

"We will eat and rest for four hours and then continue. We should reach the rendezvous point sometime tomorrow morning."

"Ye… yes." She said.

XXXXXXXXXX

"What is the meaning of this?" Hyuuga Katsu demanded. He was an elder of the Hyuuga main branch and not a man used to being challenged or defied. He believed in the sacred traditions of his clan and was a zealous defender of what he saw as his clan's rights. So at the moment he was in a fury despite the fact he was faced by the Hokage and a couple dozen ANBU and those, 'bodyguards.'

"I think the meaning is simple," the Hokage replied. "The former clan head of Hyuuga has committed high treason by abandoning her village. For a clan head to do such a thing is a grave matter and indicates there are serious concerns with Hyuuga. After all, am I to truly believe that she acted on her own? How can I be certain there was no conspiracy?"

"Conspiracy?" Katsu spat. "Hinata is just a child. If your _son _left the village with her then obviously she has been kidnapped!"

"That's not so," Neji came forward and spoke up despite the glares from Katsu and other main branch members. "I saw Hinata leave here last night. She said she was going for a walk, but that was an obvious lie."

"Well there you have it," Fugaku said smiling. "Corroboration that Hinata left the estate of her own accord in order to join Itachi in his crime. Am I to believe that she acted all alone? Surely she must have had some advice from her councilors, eh?"

"This is preposterous!" Katsu said. "Hyuuga has always been loyal to the village! We would certainly not support treason!"

"Perhaps," Fugaku said pleasantly. "But let's see what you and the other elders say after interrogation." With a nod the ANBU took the men into custody.

"This is an outrage!" Katsu shouted. "The Council will hear about this!"

"What Council?" The Hokage asked. He watched as the elders were all led away. Despite shouts and arguments none of them actually resisted. They obviously expected to be asked some questions and then released once their innocence was confirmed.

The Hokage chuckled gleefully at that thought. _They have no idea how things have changed. _Following Danzo's death he'd put people he could trust in place. People who understood what he wanted. By the end of the week all five Hyuuga elders would have signed full confessions detailing a vast conspiracy that had been hatched to discredit and depose him. Their executions would serve as a valuable lesson to the other clans that they were not immune or untouchable.

"Now then, since the previous clan head is a wanted fugitive I shall have to choose a new one." He looked at Neji. "You were Hiashi's nephew I believe?"

"I was Hokage-sama," Neji answered.

"Well then, I designate you the new Hyuuga clan head."

"You cannot do that!" Despite being a little girl Hanabi stepped forward and looked up at him. "I am Hinata's sister and Hiashi's daughter I must be clan head if my sister cannot be. Besides which as a member of the cadet branch Neji is disqualified from leading us."

Most of the clan, main and cadet, were present. Even if their curse seals were hidden it was easy to tell which were which. About half those present nodded their agreement, while the other half frowned and looked on coldly.

The Hokage turned his full attention to Hanabi. "And why would I allow another traitor to lead this clan?" He asked. "I will choose who will lead, and I think Neji here will be a fine leader. I imagine that he at least will be loyal."

Hanabi felt just the tiniest sliver of killer intent directed at her. She paled and quickly backed away.

Neji bowed, and unlike many of the bows he had given in his life this one was sincere. "Hokage-sama, if you were to make me clan head you would have my eternal and unquestioning loyalty. But I must warn you that if I am made clan head I will make many changes. The first being outlawing the placing of any more caged bird seals and making it a crime to activate one."

Once again it was made clear who was who as people either looked alarmed and nervous or nodded eager support.

The Hokage nodded as well. "By all means, I share your abhorrence at this vile and degrading practice." He looked thoughtful. "You know I have come across some of Orochimaru's old notes concerning his efforts to break the caged bird seal. I believe I may be able to finish his work and find a way to permanently deactivate the seal."

Neji looked up in wonder. When Orochimaru had been killed he and his fellow cadet branch members had been among the few to have mourned him. They'd believed that with his death their last hope of being free of the seal gone. Now that hope was suddenly alive again. "Hokage-sama if you could do that you would have to loyalty of every cadet branch member. You would have our loyalty to the death!"

Fugaku looked pleased. "That, "he said quietly. "Is all I have ever asked for."

XXXXXXXXXX

Following the meeting Fugaku returned to his base in Training Ground 44. Where Kimimaro and the Snake four awaited him.

"I have a special mission for you," he told them. "I want Itachi dead. Track him down wherever he may be and kill him, no matter what that may take. I do not care how many others you have to kill or what crimes you must commit, but Itachi must die."

Kimimaro bowed low to him. "If that is your will my Lord then I shall see to it."

The Hokage nodded feeling satisfied. Kimimaro had never failed him. "You are not to return until you have succeeded in you mission, no matter how long that may take."

"I understand."

XXXXXXXXXX

The following day Hinata began to notice that the trees were sparser and the weather growing steadily warmer as they kept going south. _It will be soon, _she thought.

XXXXXXXXXX

**Flashback**

"Ah, Shi… Shikamaru, there's some… something I think I shou… should tell you."

Shika and the other Council members all looked at her. They had just finished signing and sealing the documents and they were all eager to get back to the party before people started noticing they were all missing.

"Is this important?" Ino asked.

"Ye… yes, I think so," Hinata answered.

"Why don't the rest of you go downstairs and I'll see what Hinata wants." Shikamaru said.

"Fine," Ino replied.

Hinata was soon left alone with Shikamaru and Itachi.

"So what is it Hinata?" Shikamaru asked.

"I… I ha… have a way to contact Naruto-kun. It's a sec… secret but he has a toad summons that we use to exchange letters."

Shikamaru raised an eyebrow. "Well that's useful. I can also see why it's secret. Jiraiya has the toad summoning contract, that means he must have allowed Naruto to sign it. I don't think the Hokage knows about that."

"No he does not," Itachi confirmed.

"If you wa… want I can send all the doc… documents to him along with a letter explaining things."

"Hmmm, give me a minute." Shikamaru squatted down and formed an 'O' with his hands as he considered it. After a minute he opened his eyes and stood back up. "I think it would be best **not **to send him those documents until you can hand them to him."

"But wh… why?"

"Hinata, I don't know him and those documents mean our lives. It's possible he might believe you've been tricked or somehow forced into this. He could use them to make some kind of deal with the Hokage where he sacrifices all of us to guarantee your safety."

"Naruto-kun would never do that!"

"Maybe," Shikamaru said. "But since I've never met him I have nothing to go on but your opinion. I'm not willing to risk all our lives on just that. Contact him and tell him you plan to leave Konoha to go to Suna. Tell him it's an emergency but _don't _tell him anything more. Ask him if he will meet you and escort you and your companion to Suna. Oh and _don't _mention you'll be traveling with an Uchiha. Don't show him the documents or tell him what's happening until you're in Suna."

She slowly nodded. "All right."

XXXXXXXXXX

"They're here. "Itachi announced.

"What?"

Itachi leapt down at a crossroads where four others patiently waited. All four of them eyeing them with suspicion. One was a woman dressed in a green coat and outfit. The other three were dressed in black body suite with a think stripe of red along the side. One of them had a giant gourd on his back.

One of them saw her and his face broke into a huge smile as he stepped forward. "Welcome to Wind country Hinata-chan." He held out his arms.

Without a thought she leapt off of Itachi's back and ran into his waiting embrace. "Naruto-kun!"

His arms swallowed her up and she let out a happy cry. She had made it back to him at last.


	32. Tell us your story

**Flashback**

Naruto was looking into the eyes of his opponent. His own eyes were calm and certain, the eyes of an assassin. His foe snarled. "Do you think a little brat like you could ever be a threat to me?"

Naruto smirked at him. "I think I'm taking you down right now. I've made my intentions clear; the only question is what are you going to do? Either take me on or retreat, make your choice."

His opponent stared into his eyes. There was no trace of doubt there; there was only certainty as to how this would end. His enemy carefully considered, and then made his choice.

"Fold," he said with disgust and tossed in his cards.

"Yes!!" Tsunade shouted from behind Naruto's seat.

Naruto laughed as he scooped up his winnings. "You know godmother if mom ever finds out about this she really will get mad."

Whenever they went on a mission within a hundred miles of a casino Tsunade would always manage to divert them to it between the mission's completion and their return home. Even if it was just for a few hours she would have Naruto playing cards with the money she staked him. He would do all the playing and she would collect the winnings, minus a fee of course.

"What Kushina doesn't know won't hurt her," Tsunade said primly.

"He has to be cheating!" Naruto's opponent said angrily. "There's no way a kid could beat me unless he was using jutsus!"

The dealer pointed to a crystal that was hanging over the table. "Jutsus are forbidden while on the casino floor."

"It's probably broken," the man argued.

"**Henge no Jutsu." **With a puff of smoke Naruto became a perfect copy of Kakashi. The crystal above the table instantly began glowing with a bright red light. "Looks like it's working to me," said Naruto with Kakashi's voice. He then ended the jutsu and reverted to his normal appearance. The red light also immediately vanished.

The man glowed at Naruto who just smiled back. "Cash me out," he said. He handed over a small pile of chips to the dealer.

"I guess I'll cash out too," Naruto pushed over several large piles.

XXXXXXXXXX

Heading back to Suna Tsunade had a huge smile on her face and was humming a happy tune. Winning always put her in a good mood.

As they were going Gamakichi suddenly appeared in a pouf of smoke. He was on Naruto's shoulder. "Hey boss! I got a special message for you from Hinata!"

"You do? You mean she used the special summoning scroll I sent her?"

Since Hinata had not signed the summoning contract she would normally be restricted from summoning Gamakichi or any other toad. Naruto had sent her a special summoning scroll that he had inked with some of his own blood. It allowed her to summon Gamakichi in case some sort of emergency came up.

"That's right boss, she asked me to give you this message and wait for a reply." Gamakichi opened the leather case around his neck and took out a letter.

Naruto took it and quickly read it. "What the hell?"

"What does it say?" Tsunade asked.

He handed the letter to her. "She says that there's an emergency and she is leaving Konoha to come to Suna. She asks me to meet her to escort her and her guard to the village." He looked at Gamakichi. "What kind of trouble is she in?"

"She didn't seem to be in any sort of trouble," the small toad stated. "When I popped into her room she seemed fine."

"But something has to be seriously wrong if she used the summoning scroll and wants to suddenly leave her village like this."

Tsunade read the short message a second time. There was no hint as to the reason for this sudden request. "Gamakichi, please tell Hinata that we will be at the rendezvous point to meet her at the time requested."

The toad glanced to Naruto who nodded. "And tell Hinata-chan that whatever's wrong we'll take care of it."

"Right boss!" Gamakichi vanished.

"What do you think this is about?" Naruto asked. "Hinata-chan wouldn't leave her village for no reason."

"We'll have to wait to find out Naruto," Tsunade answered.

XXXXXXXXXX

Tsunade put her hand to her mouth and let out a cough. "Not that I want to break up such a touching scene, but Hinata, _why _have you left your village?"

"Yeah Hinata-chan, what's going on?" Naruto asked.

She regretfully pulled out of his warm embrace so she could face Tsunade. "Gomen," she said with a swift bow. "I'm not supposed to tell until I am in Suna and able to speak with Kushina-sama."

"What do you mean, 'not supposed to?'" Tsunade demanded. "Hinata are you under orders of some kind?"

"I… I…" she began to press her index fingers together.

"Please forgive us," the ANBU with the raven's mask said. "But for reasons of security it would be best to wait for an explanation."

Tsunade looked at the mysterious man and crossed her arms over her chest. "And how exactly do you expect us to get you into Suna without even an explanation?"

"Hyuuga Hinata is the formally betrothed fiancé of Namikaze Naruto and has come requesting asylum and his protection. I too have come requesting asylum while acting as her escort."

"_Why _does she need asylum? Just who is endangering her?" Tsunade asked.

"For reasons of security, I think it best to not reveal that at this time." The ANBU said quietly.

Tsunade frowned at him and his calm demeanor. She could sense a very strong aura about him, and there was something just a little… off about him. "Who are you? Are you an actual ANBU or just playing at one?"

"I am a genuine ANBU, but I prefer to keep my identity a secret until we are in Suna."

"What does it matter anyway godmother?" Naruto said. "The important thing is Hinata's here and she needs our help!" he reached out and hugged her again. "Don't worry Hinata-chan! You're safe now. I won't let anyone hurt you no matter what!" As he said this Naruto unconsciously began to rub his cheek against hers.

Hinata felt her heart beat begin to pound as his doing this seemed incredibly familiar and was more than she could handle.

Naruto noticed as she went limp in his arms. "Hinata-chan? Hey are you all right?"

"I think the display of your affection was a little too much for her," an amused Tsunade noted. She went over and performed a quick diagnostic jutsu. "It's fine you just made her faint."

Michio had a good laugh at that. "Good going lady killer!"

"I believe it would be best if we were to continue on to Suna," the ANBU said. "Hinata and I are undoubtedly being pursued." He looked over to Naruto. "If you like I can carry her."

"No, I've got her," Naruto shifted his hold and had her in his arms bridal style. "Now that she's here with me I'll protect her."

XXXXXXXXXX

As they crossed the desert heading towards Suna Hinata woke up to find herself being carried in Naruto's arms.

She promptly fainted again.

XXXXXXXXXX

Though permission had not been sought of the Kazekage Hinata and the ANBU were both permitted to enter when Kushina declared her clan would take responsibility for them.

Hinata and the ANBU were brought to the house where all the ninja of Uzumaki / Namikaze as well as Tsunade and Kakashi waited.

"While I am very happy to see you again Hinata, why are you here?" Kushina asked.

Hinata looked up at her nervously. "I… I came to deliver these and ask for your help." From out of an inner pocket of her coat she produced the documents and handed them over.

Kushina took them and began reading them. Almost as soon as she did so her eyebrows leapt. "Hinata!" She said sharply. "Do you know what these say?!"

She nodded. "Hai! My signature and seal are on them as well."

"Then you understand that every single person who has signed these has committed high treason?"

"Yes, I know that." Hinata answered quietly.

"Treason?!" Naruto shouted. He looked at Hinata horrified. "Hinata-chan what did you do?"

"Calm down Naruto," Kushina said and continued reading. "Hinata you are going to have to explain _everything_ from the very beginning."

"Hai."

"But before that," she shifted her attention to their other guest. "Please take off your mask and identify yourself. I allowed you to enter this house because you acted as Hinata's guardian. But I want to know exactly who you are and what part you play in all of this."

"Of course," the man said. He then removed his mask and looked calmly back at her with his dark brown eyes. "I am Uchiha Itachi, son of Uchiha Fugaku and ANBU captain of Konoha."

In a flash the tips of five katanas were pressing against him. Gaara sent sand out of his gourd and within seconds Itachi had his hands and feet bound together. Kakashi and Tsunade both fell into fighting stances.

"What are you doing?!" Hinata shouted. "Itachi is trying to help us! He's on our side!"

"Like hell he is!" Michio screamed at her. "No fucking Uchiha is on our side!" His hand trembled just a little and he deliberately pressed his sword forward. From beneath Itachi's right arm a trickle of blood began to flow. Itachi remained calm and silent.

"Hey! Don't yell at Hinata!" Naruto shouted at him.

"Both of you be quiet!" Kushina shouted. "And Michio no more cursing or I'll wash your mouth out with soap!"

"Yes aunt Kushina," he said. He still looked angrily at Hinata. "You bring a filthy Uchiha here? And he's the son of Fugaku?! Art you out of your mind?"

"Hey! You can't be mad at her!" Naruto said angrily. "She doesn't know!"

The two cousins glared at one another.

Itachi meanwhile looked calmly at Kushina, who was as furious as Michio but better able to hide it. "Do you intend to kill me?" He asked her calmly.

"I'm considering it," she answered. "Why are you here? Have you come for Naruto?"

"No," he answered. "I have come here to aid in the overthrow of the present government of Konoha and in the establishing of Namikaze Naruto as the Sixth Hokage. That is my sole intention."

Everyone but Kushina and Hinata gasped at that.

"And why should I believe you would want to overthrow your own father?" Kushina demanded.

"Because my father is already dead," Itachi said without the slightest feeling. "The man who now rules Konoha is in fact Orochimaru."

"That's impossible!" Tsunade objected. "That damn snake is dead!" She paused. "Isn't he?"

"No he… he's not," Hinata spoke up. "Please let me ex… explain! The re… reason I'm here is be… because we believe the Hokage is Orochimaru!"

Kushina looked at the little girl. She looked at the serene face of Itachi. She slowly pulled her sword back, though she did not put it away. "I will listen to what you have to say," she sent Itachi a dangerous glance. "Know that I and a number of others here are expert at spotting lies. I _strongly _suggest you tell us nothing but the truth. As you may have guessed we're not fond of you Uchihas."

At her nod the others pulled up their swords.

Except Michio.

"You want to trust him?" He said disbelieving. "He is Fugaku's _son! _Why don't we just kill him?" He pushed his sword forward just a bit more; the blood began to run out in a thicker stream.

Shinzou reached out and grabbed Michio's wrist. "That is not your decision son, now put up your sword."

Michio looked at his father defiantly, but pulled his sword back. The tip of it was red.

"Now tell us your story," Kushina said.

XXXXXXXXXX

A couple miles outside Suna a pair of Hunter nin and a pair of ANBU were resting on their bellies as they looked through their binoculars towards the village.

"You're sure, they went in there?" An ANBU with a falcon's mask asked.

"There's no doubt," one of the hunters replied. "I happen to be an Inuzuka."

The ANBU let out a disappointed sigh. If an Inuzuka said Hinata and Itachi were in there then they almost certainly were. "The Hokage is _not _going to be happy about this."


	33. Promise of a lifetime

Michio stormed out of the house. Out in the courtyard there were six training posts set up. These were meant to help with practicing basic punches and kicks. Michio approached on and yanked out his sword.

"Damn it!!" With all his strength he began slashing and attacking the wooden post. Each time his blade hacked into the wood he imagined it was that smug Uchiha he was cutting. Just the thought of that calm superior expression made his blood boil.

XXXXXXXXXX

**Flashback**

"That, that's quite a story," Kushina said neutrally.

"Tha… that's why we did all this," Hinata said. "We… we wouldn't have gone so far if… if we weren't sure."

"My father and I often disagreed on a great many subjects," Itachi said calmly. "But one thing was always constant; everything he did was for the greater glory of the clan. The clan was everything to him. When he began to deliberately cut himself off from it I began to suspect. Now there is no question whatsoever, the man who is disguised as the Hokage is _not _my father. He is Orochimaru."

"Only the body is still Fugaku's," Kushina said. "Meaning the only way to prove the identity of the person is through a mind effecting jutsu."

Itachi nodded. "Which is impossible to force upon him without inviting an attack by his bodyguards. Certainly it would be impossible to use such a jutsu as evidence even if it were performed somehow."

"Which is wh… why we have come to this."

Naruto had the documents in his hand at the moment. "Wow so you guys really want me to be Hokage?" He flashed Hinata a wide grin that made her turn a deep crimson. "The Rokudaime Hokage Namikaze Naruto, sounds good huh mom?"

Kushina was considerably less enthusiastic. "Son, the people there wouldn't cheer for you the way they did your father," she said quietly.

"That is not so," Itachi answered. "The people of Konoha now more or less recognize Naruto as the Yondaime's legitimate heir. They likely would accept him on the throne. Certainly the majority would feel safer with Naruto as Hokage than as a potential enemy plotting revenge."

"He never would have had a _reason_ for revenge if they hadn't all hated him in the first place!" She said strongly. The memories of her departure, of all the harsh looks and cruel words were still fresh even after so many years.

"Perhaps," Itachi admitted. "But nothing can be done about the past now, the questions that concern us have only to do with the future."

"Just what exactly do you expect us to do?" Kushina asked. "Go to the Kazekage and have him raise an army to attack Konoha? All to put my son on the throne there and take him out of his service?" Kushina shook her head. "Our two clans have gained quite a lot of influence, but not _that _much."

"The clan heads would not be in position to assist you now regardless," Itachi said. "They would need some time to gain full control of their clans and for the situation to ripen."

"Whether it's in a couple months or a couple years, what you want is more than I can deliver." Kushina said. "The Kazekage is not likely to agree. He wants Naruto _here _and frankly since your father confiscated the Namikaze properties I do as well. Namikaze belongs to Suna now."

"Were Naruto to become Hokage he would be in position to recover the properties lost." Itachi said. "What is more reestablishing Namikaze in Konoha does not require it being extinguished here." He nodded to Gaara. "Two sons, two leaders of two branches of Namikaze."

"Two branches of the same clan?" Saishu asked. "And located in two different ninja villages? That's completely unheard of!"

"That does not mean it would be impossible," Itachi replied.

"What are you? Some kind of revolutionary?" Shinzou asked.

Hinata took a nervous step forward. "I… I… thi… think it would be wonderful if Naruto-kun could come to Konoha as Hokage and restore Namikaze there."

Naruto looked at her. "Is that what you want Hinata-chan?"

She shyly nodded. "I… I'd be happy here too Naruto-kun, jus… just so long as I can be with you. Bu… but I would like it if we could be in Konoha together."

He nodded and immediately made his decision. "All right then, that's what we'll do!"

"Wha… what do you mean?"

"I've decided! I will definitely become Hokage and reestablish the Namikaze clan in Konoha!" With a grin he instinctively gave her a, 'nice guy pose.' "That is a promise of a lifetime!"

Everyone else in the room stared at him.

"Naruto," Kakashi said in a friendly tone. "Have you ever heard the saying, 'writing a check with your mouth that your body can't cash?'"

"Huh?" Naruto asked.

Kushina looked at her son and pinched the bridge of her nose. "Naruto," she tried to sound patient. "You have to think before you make a promise. Especially one that big."

"It doesn't matter how big it is, I'll definitely do it!"

Shinzou chuckled. "Well I can see you'll never have any problems with self confidence."

"We still need to work on his judgment though," Kushina said dryly.

"How can we not help?" Naruto insisted.

"Simple, because we don't have to Naruto." Kushina said. "Your father sacrificed himself for that village; he saved them from the Kyuubi. And how did they show their gratitude? They howled for _your _blood son. We owe them _nothing!_"

"But I'm not doing it for them," Naruto said. "I'm doing this for Hinata-chan."

She looked down to hide how red her face was. Naruto was actually ready to go to war for her sake.

"Well that's nice," Kakashi said. "But couldn't you just buy her flowers like any normal guy would?"

Kushina shook her head. "All right, I think I've heard enough." She looked at Itachi stonily. "I believe your story about Orochimaru taking possession of the Hokage. I will speak with the Kazekage and see what he says. In the meantime you and Hinata are guests of my clan. _You _will be kept under surveillance. If you try and leave this property or if you do _anything _suspicious you _will _be killed."

"I understand," Itachi answered.

Kushina cast a kind eye to Hinata. "You are very welcome here Hinata. You can come and go as you like but for your own safety please don't leave without someone to escort you."

"Tha… thank you Kushina-sama." She gave her a bow.

Laughing Kushina reached down and rubbed the top of the girl's head. "You don't need to be formal with me honey, just Kushina is fine." Kushina got a knowing look in her eye. "Hinata, how would you like to learn to make the ramen Naruto likes?"

XXXXXXXXXX

Michio finally stopped swinging his sword and stood there panting.

"Feel better now?"

Michio looked behind him to see his father standing there. "Not really."

"So that poor training post died for nothing?"

Michio glanced that the stump and pile of wood shavings that had been a post a few minutes earlier. "Sorry," he muttered and put his sword away.

"That's all right," Shinzou said and came up to his son's side. "I can understand why you're unhappy."

"How can she let him stay here?" Michio demanded. "What was the point of swearing Vendetta if we're just going to let Fugaku's son be a guest?"

"He's not exactly a guest son, Kushina and I will have our clones with him at all times keeping an eye on him. In any case it was Fugaku that we swore against not his son."

"Why do we have to deal with any Uchiha?" Michio demanded.

"If what he and Hinata say is true we have to offer them our protection. Hinata probably wouldn't have made it here without Itachi's help."

"So because of that all is forgiven?"

Shinzou shook his head. "We're not forgiving or forgetting, but for now at least Itachi may be an ally. And if what he says really is true the Vendetta's already been settled."

"Fugaku's still alive!"

"His body may still be walking around but if it really is Orochimaru who is in control then Fugaku is gone and our Vendetta is settled." Shinzou shrugged.

"I won't accept that!" Michio said.

Shinzou frowned. "You'll accept whatever Kushina or I tell you to." He tried to put a hand on his son's shoulder only to have him move away and start heading back inside.

"What the hell was the point?" He asked bitterly.

XXXXXXXXXX

A few days later Kushina met with the Kazekage together with Naruto and Gaara. In their meeting she told the Kazekage the situation with Itachi and Hinata and the fact they believed the Hokage to have been replaced by Orochimaru. She mentioned the request to have Naruto replace the Hokage following a combined attack / revolt. She was very carefully though to only mention, 'certain elements' in Konoha that would be willing to revolt in the face of an attack. For the time being she decided not to mention the documents she'd received or any specific names. She well understood how precarious those lives might be if the Kazekage decided to try and make peace with Orochimaru rather than fight him. That was if she could even convince him that Orochimaru really was in control.

That wasn't going too well.

"We are not amused," the Kazekage said from behind his cloth screen.

Kushina and both her sons were kneeling before him. Gaara had an especially stony look on his face. He would have preferred not to come. Kushina had insisted, she'd hoped the presence of one son who the Kazekage seemed to fear, and the other who was the Yondaime Hokage's son might help. It hadn't so far. "Forgive me Kazekage-sama, but it was not meant as a joke."

"The Hokage's body possessed by Orochimaru? We had thought him a Sannin, not a spirit. Were we mistaken?"

On the surface it did seem rather hard to believe. "Orochimaru is a genius; there is no telling what jutsus he may have created."

"Indeed, Orochimaru _was _a genius."

"The Hokage's behavior and actions seem out of character for him. Itachi was not the only one to think so."

"Having survived an attack which killed the Council of Fire, we can well understand his caution. We can also understand his concern for security." Behind the screen she saw him straighten a bit, in her mind's eye she pictured him in irritation. "We are not pleased to know the Hokage's son has come here seeking asylum. Hinata's presence is understandable as she is your heir's legitimate fiancée. As such we recognize your right to offer her your protection. Itachi is another matter. As for this suggestion that Naruto become Hokage, we find it ridiculous!"

"What?" Naruto snapped.

"Quiet!" Kushina hissed at him.

"Naruto is a Suna ninja and a member of the Tenth Great House. His loyalty should be to Suna alone!"

Kushina nodded. "Both my son and my clan are loyal to Suna. Were he to become Hokage he would be Suna's staunchest and most devoted friend."

"We do not doubt his good intentions, but to be a Kage is to put the good of _that _village before all else. We refuse even to consider this possibility, we expect Naruto to be a loyal and faithful defender of Suna. If he must let him dream of being Kazekage one day. If he proves himself worthy I shall consider naming him my successor."

Kushina's eyebrows rose. Now _that _was interesting. She wondered just how serious he was.

"We intend to meet with some of the Hokage's representatives to see if some satisfactory compromise can be reached. The Hokage has threatened ending the alliance and even hints at war unless his son is returned. Fortunately Hinata seems a less urgent matter. We shall meet again tomorrow and you will hear our decision then."

"Hai, Kazekage-sama," Kushina said.

"The audience is at an end, you may leave us."

XXXXXXXXXX

That day the Kazekage and his guards went out to speak with the Hokage's representatives. Wanting to avoid an incident the Kazekage decided it was more prudent to go and meet them outside the village rather than invite them inside.

The following day Kushina was again summoned to meet with the Kazekage. As before she brought her two sons with her. When they entered the Kazekage was in his usual place behind a cloth screen flanked by two guards. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary.

Naruto however stiffened and grabbed his mom's arm. "Mom!" He whispered urgently.

"Not now Naruto!" She whispered back.

"Mom," he continued in her ear. "That's not the Kazekage!"

Kushina froze and looked at him sharply. "What do you mean?" She whispered.

"His chakra signature is different! I don't know who that is but that is not the Kazekage!" Naruto insisted.

"Are you sure? His signature seems right to me." Kushina said.

"It's well disguised, but it's definitely different."

Minato had had a rare gift for discerning chakra signatures. He'd been able to see through disguises with ease and known anyone by their signature no matter how they tried to hide it. Naruto had inherited this same gift. "Naruto are you _absolutely _sure? If you have any doubt say so."

He swallowed and nodded. "I'm sure mom."

"Is there some problem?" The Kazekage called in his usual voice.

Kushina felt no henge or other jutsu active and she thought the chakra signature right. If she did what she was thinking and was wrong… _My sons and I won't be the only ones to die; everyone in the clan will be killed. _Her decision came down to a question of trust.

And she trusted her son.

"Gaara," she whispered. "Bring out your sand."

Gaara blinked and there was surprise on his face. But he pulled out the cork in his gourd with a simple. "Yes mother."

As sand spilled out of the gourd the Kazekage jumped to his feet and his guards took out their weapons. "What is the meaning of this?"

Kushina and Naruto pulled out their swords. "You are not the Kazekage," she declared in a loud clear voice. "Impersonating the Kazekage is a crime punishable by death." She sent each son a quick glance. "Kill him!"


	34. Intruders in Suna

As they moved the two ANBU guards seemed to tear themselves in half to reveal two ninja in their place. The, 'Kazekage' tossed aside the cloth screen and reached behind his back. He seemed to pull out a _bone _and actually began to wield it like a sword. "Kill them quickly! We must find Itachi!"

In the confined space of the Kazekage's audience chamber everything happened at once. Kushina went for the still disguised Kazekage, Naruto for the two ninja on the right, and Gaara for the two on the left.

XXXXXXXXXX

A girl with tangled red hair put a flute to her mouth and began to play. The girl prided herself on not carrying any other weapon but her flute. She discovered the drawback to being a long range genjutsu type fighting in closed quarters with an enemy less than fifteen feet away. Before she could play more than a single note Naruto had driven his katana clean into her heart and through her heart.

She only had enough time for a quick gasp as the flute slipped from her hands. Naruto yanked the blade out to face his other opponent. A fat ninja who hadn't been quite fast enough to prevent him reaching his teammate.

"Tayuya!" he screamed as the girl fell in a bloody heap. "I'll kill you!"

"You're welcome to try fatty." Naruto said as he went after him with a bloodied sword.

XXXXXXXXXX

One of Gaara's opponents seemed to have six arms. That one stood his ground as he opened his mouth and spat out gobs of white goo.

As was his habit Gaara did not bother to move as he fought. The sand at his feet automatically rose to intercept the blobs aimed at his head.

"Is that all you can do?" Gaara asked in a bored voice. "Spit at me?" Without a motion the sand burst in two small waves aimed at his opponents. One of them, a lanky boy with grey colored hair managed to dodge back and avoid it. The one with the six arms made the mistake of waiting a second too long as he continued trying to spit out his globs. When he did jump one foot was grabbed by the sand and he was slammed back down.

Not wanting to get his mother covered in blood he decided to send the sand into his victim's mouth and nose to suffocate him rather than crush him.

XXXXXXXXXX

The Kazekage drove his in a powerful thrust aimed at Kushina's heart. She parried with her katana pushing the strike wide. Her opponent recovered swiftly and launched a couple swift slashes, aiming for her head. He was fast and unusually strong and she was momentarily forced to defend. Despite his odd choice of weapon she noted his footwork and perfect form.

"Dance of the camellia?" She asked as they momentarily broke apart and looked for an opening.

He gave her a polite nod. "You are an Uzumaki?"

"Namikaze actually, but close enough."

"I have heard of your clan and had always hoped to face one of its members." Outside the door to the chamber there were loud shouts. The Kazekage looked about and came to an instant decision. "Withdraw."

The room was suddenly filled with smoke as the intruders made their escape. At the instant eh door was smashed down and four ANBU rushed in with weapons drawn. "They attacked the Kazekage! Kill them!"

Before any of them could take another step all four were bound in sand. "You don't want to do that," Gaara said menacingly.

"Gaara! Don't kill them!" Kushina shouted.

"Yes, mother." Gaara answered but _did _keep them trapped in his sand.

The commander looked from Gaara fearfully to Kushina. He noticed the bodies of two ninja he did not recognize. "What is going on here?"

"I'll explain," Kushina said and did so as quickly as she could.

XXXXXXXXXX

Itachi was calmly sitting on the porch of the clan house looking out at a barren courtyard. "I was expecting that there would at least be a grass lawn."

Kakashi, Tsunade, and Shinzou were out there with him keeping an eye on him. "The laws about water usage are extremely strict, not even the clans are allowed to waste them on something so superfluous." Shinzou explained.

"I suppose I can understand that," Itachi said. "But I will miss seeing green."

All three of his guards nodded in sympathy. "You get used to it eventually," Kakashi said.

Itachi was about to say something when he looked sharply in the direction of the gate. Three figures were leaping over it radiating an odd and very potent chakra. Itachi felt a jutsu taking effect beneath him. "Move!"

All four ninja leapt just in time to avoid being skewered and forest of bones erupted beneath and all around the porch. Out in the courtyard Itachi, Kakashi, Tsunade, and Shinzou faced off against three ninja who seemed to have been transformed into monsters. One looked almost like some sort of miniature spined dinosaur.

"Uchiha Itachi, your death has been ordered," that one announced.

Itachi momentarily closed his eyes and then opened them. "By Orochimaru." He said.

Without bothering to reply the central ninja transformed his right arm into a massive lance of bone and charged at his target.

"You don't think it will be that easy do you?!" Tsunade shouted and slammed her foot down tearing open the ground and forcing the attacker to leap into the air in mid charge.

Kakashi had pulled up his scratched hitai-ite to reveal his own sharingan. In his palm chakra began to glow as he formed his raikiri. He raced toward a ninja with a horned face and a metal coated arm.

Shinzou meanwhile pulled out his sword and ran at a huge reddish skinned ninja. That one reached down and pulled out a massive boulder out of the ground. He launched it at Shinzou who was easily able to dodge it.

"You're pretty strong." Shinzou said admirably. He reached to his belt and tossed out a smoke bomb. It landed at his enemy's feet and exploded, filling the space around him with a thick smoke.

"You worthless scum!" Jirobo shouted. "Don't underestimate me! I am one of the elite Sake four!"

"That's nice," Shinzou said from within the smoke. "But you shouldn't take me lightly either, I am an assassin specialized in the sword and in silent killing."

Jirobo moved quickly towards the voice and faint chakra signature. His opponent was trying to suppress it but hadn't quite managed. "Is that supposed to scare me?" Through the smoke he found him and grabbed him by both arms to keep him from swinging his weapon. "I'm going to rip you in half!" But as he proceeded to do so his enemy vanished in a puff of smoke.

"Wha… urk." Jirobo was silenced as a katana stabbed through one side of his thick neck and out the other.

Standing behind him with his chakra perfectly suppressed Shinzou leaned forward to whisper to the dying ninja. "This is how assassins kill." Then with both hands he yanked his sword back out again causing his opponent's blood to fountain and spurt into the air as he fell over.

XXXXXXXXXX

Kakashi saw an opening and went in to deliver a lethal blow. He was surprised when a third arm suddenly came out of his enemy's chest aiming for his head. He ducked and leapt to the right, sacrificing his attack for an escape. When he landed the energy in his palm faded away. He'd wasted one raikiri; he could only make two more.

"That was an interesting technique," Kakashi said. "But I should warn you, I won't fall for the same trick twice."

His opponent laughed. "Fine, I think I should warn you. If I get a hold of you even for a minute it'll all be over."

"Well then I better get this over with without letting you get a hold of me." He again formed his signature jutsu in his palm and launched himself at his target.

Sakon stood his ground and eagerly waited for Kakashi to close in. He intended to grab a hold of him this time and let his brother Ukon merge with and kill him. As Kakashi closed in Sakon and his brother readied themselves. This time His brother would deliver a kick that would stun him just long enough to allow Ukon his opening.

At the very last second Ukon struck with a perfect kick aimed at Kakashi's head. "Ha!"

The kick missed as Kakashi ducked it as though he'd known it was coming. (Which he had of course thanks to the sharingan.) Too close to dodge his opponent could do nothing but stand there as Kakashi slammed his lightning blade into his chest and out the back. "I told you I wouldn't fall for the same trick twice."

Kakashi was very surprised to see as his enemy fell he reverted back to human and actually became two people, both were equally dead.

"Hmmm, well I guess I'll count that as two."

XXXXXXXXXX

Unaware, and uncaring, of what had happened to the others the transformed Kimimaro pressed on trying to run down the swift and agile Itachi. With his illness he knew he was reaching his limit. He was the last of his clan, the last of the warlike Kaguya. He had hoped to be Orochimaru's vessel and to die sacrificing himself for his lord and master. But the sickness had cheated him of that. But if he could at least die fulfilling his master's command that would be enough to satisfy him.

"Damn you! Stand and fight!" Kimimaro howled in frustration as he missed another strike. He sent a shower of bones flying from his back but Itachi dodged these as well.

"What is Orochimaru's ultimate goal?" Itachi asked.

"That shouldn't matter to you, since you are about to die."

"I will only die if you can reach me."

"Don't mock me! I live only to fulfill my Lord's will! That is my one and only purpose! I will serve him faithfully and when I die I shall live on forever as a memory in my Lord's heart!"

There was a pause as Itachi considered those words.

"Do you truly believe that?"

"Of course!"

"I see," Itachi said calmly. "Then you really are completely deluded aren't you?"

Kimimaro roared in mindless rage and again charged. This time Itachi did stand his ground. He set his feet and looked directly at the rampaging ninja.

"Die!" Kimimaro screamed and plunged his bone lance into Itachi's heart.

The lance hit and began to sink in, but there was no blood or cry of pain. Instead Itachi turned completely black right before his eyes. His form dissolved into a hundred ravens that encircled him as they cawed. As he struggled to get clear of the birds a fist surrounded by chakra slammed into his face and sent him flying.

He crashed into the hard ground and heard bones breaking inside and outside his body. His heart was thudding in his chest and his body seemed to burning up from the inside out. Still he forced himself to stand.

"It's all over, give up." Tsunade called out.

With the genjutsu gone he looked to see both Sakon and Jirobo dead and himself facing all four of them. _No! It can't end this way! I won't fail you Orochimaru-sama! _He took a step forward ready to keep fighting. "I will…" And his heart gave. He tasted his own blood and felt pain in his chest. He died just like that.

XXXXXXXXXX

Ten minutes later Kushina was standing at the gate to her home staring at the destruction of her yard and front porch. Fortunately most of the house was intact and no one had been hurt. _Why do I have this sinking feeling that things are going to get worse before they get better?_


	35. The Fifth Kazekage

After the attack there was a great deal of confusion. When things were finally sorted out the Council of Wind met and temporarily took charge. A number of patrols were sent out to search and the secure the area around the village. The Konoha hunter nin and ANBU who were still nearby were driven out, though none of them were killed. After a search the bodies of the Kazekage and his guards were found under a thin layer of earth after being dumped in a shallow ditch.

Most of the Council had assumed that if the Kazekage had been impersonated that he was likely dead. The Third Kazekage had vanished without a trace and it seemed history was repeating itself. The confirmation that the Kazekage really was dead sent shockwaves through the Council and the village. When the previous Kazekage had disappeared the results had been a lost war and chaos that lasted until the Fourth Kazekage had established himself. Wanting to avoid similar anarchy the Council was determined to select a Fifth as soon as possible.

XXXXXXXXXX

When Kushina and Shinzou returned from the council meeting they were both weary. Everyone else was eager to learn what had happened so Kushina filled them in.

"We're going to discuss who will be the Fifth tomorrow, and I'd expect a choice to be made by the end of the week. Everyone is determined to have a successor in place as soon as possible."

"Any idea who it will be?" Tsunade asked.

"Nope," Kushina said. "There's no single outstanding candidate, at least three or four of the Council members think they can do it."

"What about you?" Kakashi asked with a smirk.

"Pfffft! As if," she rolled her eyes.

"Why not?" Tsunade asked. "You've done a lot of good for this village since we came here, and I think you could do the job."

"I'm not from here," Kushina pointed out.

"Is that a requirement?" Tsunade asked.

"The only requirement is that you must be a Suna ninja," Gaara spoke up. "I think you would make an excellent Kazekage mother. You would be at least a hundred times better than the last one."

The answer did not please her as much as it should have. _He was your father Gaara. Even if he was horrible you should still feel something. _"Well thank you for the vote of confidence son. But I don't want the job, and besides I doubt I could get enough votes anyway. Most of the Council still see us as outsiders."

"Is there going to be a declaration of war?" Saishu asked.

"About half the Council is screaming for it to avenge the assassination. The other half is nervous at the prospect of fighting Konoha when they have so many more ninja than we do. Ultimately we decided to leave it to the next Kazekage to decide. So the selection of the successor will also be a choice for either peace or war."

"How did the two of you vote?" Tsunade asked.

"Oh, we were doves," Shinzou said with a smirk. He still found it funny as hell that a pair of assassins had been the loudest voices arguing for peace.

Having heard enough Gaara quietly slipped away while the others continued to talk.

XXXXXXXXXX

Kankuro was sipping some sake as he tried to figure out what the hell to do now. The day had started out completely normal and had ended with him fatherless and suddenly appointed head of the Fourth Great House of Suna. He had actually been in a Council meeting with people _wanting _to hear his opinion. It was all just too damn bizarre.

He still wasn't sure just _how_ he felt about his father being dead. The man had never been what you would call an ideal parent, being Kazekage and ruling Suna had always mattered more than family. But he hadn't been a _complete _bastard, and he was his father. He supposed he was sad, at least a little.

"If you drink all night you'll be hung over in the morning," Temari said with disapproval. "Do you really want to the other Council members to see you like that?"

"I don't want them to see me at all," he muttered. He looked at his sister. She had actually _cried _for the old man. She seemed to be handling things better now. (Certainly better than he was.) But she had been the one saddest to lose him.

Now though she was back to her normal bossy self. "Whether you like it or not you're clan head now." A frown tugged at her lips. "By all rights _I _shouldbe clan head, I'm the oldest."

"You don't have a penis," he told her. "Though I sometimes wonder."

Smack!

"Ow!" Kankuro rubbed the top of his head. He was just glad it was her fist that had hit him and not that damn fan of hers. "See! This is what makes me wonder!"

"Having only men lead the clans is a stupid and outdated tradition! Just look at Kushina! She does a fine job!"

"She and that whole bunch are foreigners," he told her as he continued to rub his aching head. "They can do what they want, but the _real _clans honor our traditions."

Temari snorted. She loved her desert home. But she did wish the place were a bit less in love with tradition and a whole lot less conservative. Having seen other places while on missions she'd seen plenty of women running businesses or noble households. Not all of them were good at it by any means. But they didn't seem much better or worse than the men doing the same jobs. And having seen Kushina she was sure a woman could excel running a clan.

"Anyway, who do you plan to support for Kazekage?" Temari asked.

"Sulamon, of the First House," Kankuro answered immediately.

Temari did not like the choice. Sulamon was 70 and could not be expected to rule for long if he was chosen. He was an arch conservative who had been head of the Department of Internal Security for close to thirty years. He was Suna's spymaster and a man who thrived on secrets and the power they could bring. He had been a proponent of the misguided attack on Leaf that had helped touch off the Third Great Ninja War and had later been one of their father's strongest supporters. If he was chosen Kazekage a war with leaf was almost guaranteed.

As she was getting ready to tell her brother he was a moron a servant nervously entered the room. "Pardon me Kankuro-sama," the servant said shakily. "But there is someone here to see you."

"Who?" Kankuro lifted the glass to his lips to take another sip.

"Namikaze Gaara."

Kankuro spat the drink back out and started to choke.

XXXXXXXXXX

Out in the main hall Kankuro and Temari saw him standing there waiting patiently. He had on the same red and black clothing the others of his family wore and a large gourd on his back.

Spotting them Gaara gave them a slight bow. "Hello Kankuro, hello Temari, thank you for permitting me to enter your home."

Kankuro had always found it unsettling the way he could be so polite while having _that _inside him. "What do you want? I'm busy so I don't have a lot of time."

"Kankuro!" Temari said sharply. "He's our brother! He's come here to mourn our loss!"

"No," Gaara said coldly. "I am not your brother. I do not consider either of you family. I have a family now and neither of you are included. As for the Kazekage's death I have no reason at all to mourn him."

Temari was hurt to hear him so brutally dismiss the ties between them.

Kankuro was angry. "Show some respect! Yeah, he was a bastard, but he was still your father wasn't he?"

Gaara looked at him calmly and Kankuro immediately regretted raising his voice. "The Kazekage was _never _my father and I do not mourn him. I did not come here to speak of him."

"O.k. then, why are you here?" Kankuro asked.

The cork in his gourd popped out and sand began spilling out onto the carpet.

"What are you doing?!" Kankuro said terrified and backed away from him as fast as he could.

"Gaara please! What is this?!" Temari called out.

"I want my mother to be selected the next Kazekage," he said simply. "If she is not, I will be very upset."

A pale and very nervous looking Kankuro stared at him. "You can't come in here and threaten me." His words lacked much punch as they were delivered in a fearful voice.

"I make no threats," Gaara said calmly. "She did not ask me to do this, I have come here on my own simply to state my own personal feelings on the matter. I want my mother to be Kazekage, if she is not chosen I _will _be unhappy." With that the sand began flowing back into the gourd to Kankuro's and Temari's relief. "That is all I came here to say, now if you will please excuse me I have to speak with the other council members." He actually gave them another polite bow before showing himself out.

As soon as he was gone Kankuro dropped to his knees. "Oh man! I saw my life flash before my eyes!"

"He… he wouldn't have done anything," Temari said.

Kankuro looked up at her. "You don't sound too sure."

"He's been fine ever since he was adopted out," Temari said. "I'm… I'm sure he wouldn't do anything to us."

"Do you really want to take that chance?"

Temari looked at him in surprise. "What are you saying? You're going to let him threaten you?"

"Listen sis, I know I'm no genius. But I'm not stupid enough to piss off the Shukaku."

XXXXXXXXXX

The next morning when Kushina and Shinzou arrived to the meeting they could feel the eyes of all the other council members lock onto them. As soon as they had shown up utter silence had fallen.

"Did we do something?" Shinzou whispered to her. He worried the others were blaming them for what had happened.

"I don't think so," she whispered back. She saw the look in their eyes; it made her feel very nervous. _I have a bad feeling about this._

Sulamon who was the oldest member of the Council spoke. "Now that the representatives of the ninth and tenth houses are here let us take our seats and begin the meeting."

They all sat down at the table.

"I think the first order of business should be the selection of the new Kazekage," Sulamon said. "Are there any nominations?"

Kankuro spoke up in a loud clear voice. "I nominate Namikaze Kushina."

"Huh?" A startled Kushina responded.

"What?" An equally surprised Shinzou said.

"I second the nomination," another member said.

"Are there any other candidates?" Sulamon asked.

No one spoke.

"Very well, I don't think we need any discussion. I call the vote." Sulamon said. "All those in favor raise your hand."

Eight hands rose as one. Only Kushina and Shinzou were too stunned to actually vote.

"Very well," Sulamon said. "By a vote of eight to zero with two abstentions Namikaze Kushina is hereby named to be Fifth Kazekage of Suna." He looked over to her and bowed his head. "Congratulations Kazekage-sama."

Kushina blinked at him unsure of what to say. "What the hell just happened here?"

"You were just made Kazekage, defender of the pass, and supreme ruler of Suna," Kankuro said in a tone that was anything but excited. "Congrats."

Kushina stared at all the other faces in the room. The all looked deathly serious. "Is this some kind of joke?"

"No, it is most serious I assure you Kazekage-sama," Sulamon said. "You are now Kazekage, may your rule be long and bountiful."

Staring back Kushina had only one thought. _Damn it I was right, things really did get worse!_


	36. A beautiful thing

**Author's Note: **I had this in my email box today from Jesse Briceno who organized the fanfiction awards contest.

OMG... you sir are a god at fanfiction... i got the results and i have to say  
you were amazing... you didnt do a thing and yet people voted for you like  
your life depended on it... you have won the Naruto fanfiction choice awards  
for "OVERALL BEST AUTHOR OF 2008-2009"

and "Naruto Fanfiction Legend"

this summer we are going to do a .net vs fanfiction  
choice awards and you have been chosen to lead the .net  
side...

congratulations...

You sir are the best over all author for .net in the  
Naruto FF category

you will be mentioned at all future fanfiction panels around the U.S. your  
work is amazing and i wish you the best of luck in the future...

and you have been entered into the "The Naruto Golden Summer 2009 Fanfiction  
Awards"

I want to thank all of you who voted for me. You like me! You really, really like me!

Anyway, thanks, I'll try to not let my head swell _too_ much.

Oh what the hell…

"I AM A GOLDEN KAMI!!" Jumps off roof into a pool below.

XXXXXXXXXX

Though horrified by the prospect Kushina knew she could not pass up this opportunity to effect much needed change. She looked at the Council members after recovering from her initial shock.

"So you want to make me Kazekage, huh? Fine, as my very first act I am formally establishing a Ninja Academy that will offer free instruction to any who have the potential to be ninja and are willing to learn."

The other Council members all looked at one another unhappily, but none of them actually objected.

"Also, I'll be changing some of the traditions involved with the office of Kazekage itself. I plan to get rid of that stupid screen and move in a desk and some chairs. From now on the audience chamber will be an office. There won't be any more kneeling or not being able to see a Kazekage's face, so I won't be wearing a veil either. People can show their respect with a simple bow, asking free people to kneel is shameful."

"But that is a sign of a Kazekage's elevated status!" Sulamon argued.

"Any Kage is only the leader of the village," Kushina argued. "Being Kazekage does not make you a kami walking the earth! You do not become a different flesh. When my husband was Hokage the bows and respectful words of his people were more than enough for him! He never expected anything more and neither will I."

Though frowning Sulamon bent his head in acknowledgement. "As the Kazekage wishes."

"And as for Konoha…"

XXXXXXXXXX

Later that day a very weary Kushina returned home with her amused brother. Together they gathered everyone together and related the bizarre events that took place. Everyone was shocked at the news. Except for Gaara for some reason.

"You will make an excellent Kazekage mother." He said and actually gave her a bow. "Suna is blessed to have you in charge."

Grinning Naruto bowed too. "Congratulations Kazekage–sama."

"Stop that!" Kushina said sharply. "Call me mom just like always. All of you, treat me like you always have." She glanced at Itachi. "You can call me Kazekage-sama."

He nodded and offered a polite bow. "As you wish Kazekage-sama."

"Ano, wha… what should I call you?" Hinata asked nervously as she pressed her index fingers together.

Kushina smiled at the little girl. "Just call me Kushina honey." Though tired she looked at Tsunade. "Tsunade, I need a word in private with you about something."

With the meeting over Naruto went over to Hinata and grabbed her hand. "Het Hinata-chan, want to see something pretty amazing?"

The casual way he held her hand made her face darken. "Su… sure Naruto-kun."

"Great!" He led her out of the house.

Kushina and Tsunade noticed the little scene and both smiled at it. "She is going to make him a wonderful wife some day." Kushina sighed happily.

"Only if she doesn't die from nervousness first," Tsunade commented with a smirk.

XXXXXXXXXX

As they were going out into the courtyard a purple haired kunoichi with a trench coat and mini skirt was wandering up the walk way. The slight stagger in her walk and the smell of sake told Naruto all he needed to know. As she walked towards them she didn't seem to notice that her coat was open a bit more than usual. Since she had a fishnet shirt on and no bra Naruto was getting quite an eyeful.

The tipsy woman wandered over to the two of them. "Hey brat, who's your little friend?"

Naruto frowned at her. "Anko this is Hyuuga Hinata, my fiancé. Hinata this is Mitarashi Anko. She used to be a leaf nin but she abandoned the village when Orochimaru returned to it."

"I am ple… pleased to meet you Anko-san." Hinata said with a bow.

Anko looked at the girl with a lopsided grin. "A polite Hyuuga? Who woulda ever thought? Better hold onto her brat she's cute and obviously crazy about you," Hinata went a deep shade of red. "I doubt you'd ever do better. Now is Kakashi here?"

Naruto nodded. "He's inside."

"Thanks brat." She playfully messed up his hair before wobbling inside.

"Is she Kakashi's girlfriend?" Hinata asked.

Naruto snorted at that. "No way! More like they're friends with benefits. She's just here for a booty call."

Hinata looked at him questioningly. "What's a booty call?"

Now it was Naruto's turn to become a deep red. "Ah, er, forget I said that. Anyway, want to see that thing I told you about?"

She nodded.

"Cool." He reached out and picked her up. He held her bridal style and began running full speed out of the estate and towards the cliff wall half a mile away.

"Eek! Naruto-kun! What are you doing?"

He simply smiled at her. _She is just too cute when she panics. _"Relax Hinata-chan; this is just the fastest way since the day is almost over."

When they reached the cliff Naruto simply began running straight up the sheer rock side as easily as he had run across open ground. Hinata was very impressed. She had recently mastered tree walking but the ease and speed with which Naruto was moving showed he thought nothing of it. As they began to race up the cliff she held on tightly.

"Naruto-kun, whe… where are we go… going?!"

"Just to the top of the cliff wall." He assured her.

As they neared the top he made a sudden leap that caused another, 'eek' to erupt out of her. He landed easily and then carefully set Hinata back on her feet.

"There, we got here just in time." He waved to the western horizon. "This is the best view in the whole desert."

Hinata looked out at the western desert. "Oh!" She said startled. "It's… it's beautiful!"

The sun was just setting and the whole sky was a mass of red and pink and glorious orange. The sands beneath seemed to be shining like gold.

"I'm glad you like it Hinata-chan," he told her with relief. "I know the desert must be very different from what you're used to. I just wanted to show you there are good things about it."

She looked over to him shyly. "I already know that Naruto-kun, you're here."

He was surprised when he felt his heart suddenly start beating faster. "Uhm, thanks."

They stood there for a few minutes in a comfortable silence looking at the sunset.

"Ah, Naruto-kun?" She asked nervously.

"Yeah?"

"I was just wondering, do you, ah want to be friends with benefits?"

"WHAT?!"

Hinata took a couple steps back; she was caught off guard by his reaction. "You don't want to?"

He stared at her. "Hinata-chan, do you, uhm, know what being friends with benefits means?"

"Well, not really, but we're already friends, so that would be a stronger friendship wouldn't it?"

"Well it would definitely be a much more _interesting _friendship."

"So you don't want to?" She asked sadly.

With an amused grin he put his arms around her and rubbed his cheek against hers. "That's for when we're older Hinata-chan. For right now let's just be best friends, o.k.? Hinata? Hinata-chan?"

That was when he noticed she had fainted as soon as he had started rubbing his cheek to hers. Looking to her he could only smile. _You really are too cute Hinata-chan._

XXXXXXXXXX

**Four Days Later**

A large and silent crowd had gathered in the plaza outside the Tower. They had come to witness an event the likes of which Konoha had never before seen. In front of the Tower a temporary wooden scaffold had been set up fifteen feet above the ground. There was a chopping block and an ANBU with a black death mask on and a long sharp sword.

Five prisoners stood there, gagged and chained but standing proudly looking out into the sea of faces. They had come to their executions still wearing their traditional Hyuuga attire. As if to remind the crowd of just who they were.

There had been public executions in Konoha before. Criminals, captured spies, and the occasional traitor would meet this kind of end. But never before had five members of a respected clan been executed at the same time. And the fact they had confessed to treason made it even more incredible.

Another ANBU, this one with an eagle mask came forward and read from an open scroll. "You have confessed to the crimes of high treason and the plotted assassination of your lawful and just Hokage. As such you are sentenced to death, that sentence to be carried out immediately."

Two ANBU brought the first prisoner to the chopping block and instructed him to kneel and put his head down. The Hyuuga elder did so without any sort of struggle. He looked out calmly and remained dignified to the end. The blade cam down and took the man's head off in a single clean cut. His head rolled off the block and into a waiting basket as his blood sprayed out into the first few rows of spectators.

The crowd was silent through all of it. There were no shouts, no boos, no applause, they stood there in mute witness.

The other four died in short order and in a similar way. None of them struggled. All seemed determined to die with dignity intact. And through it all the huge crowd remained quiet.

With the executions complete the people slowly began drifting apart. Most of them remained quiet and kept their opinions to themselves.

Though not all of them…

"That was boring!" Zabuza complained as he shoveled some popcorn into his mouth. "These leaf ninja don't have a clue how to do public executions properly."

"Really Zabuza-sama?" Haku questioned. "I thought it went well."

Both of them had hitai-ites with snakes on them. When they had arrived they had learned of Orochimaru's death and feared they would be turned away or even arrested. Fortunately though the Hokage had chosen to keep the policies in place and not only were the bodyguards still around their numbers were increasing. Zabuza and Haku had been welcomed into their ranks.

Even more interesting, the Hokage had seemed intrigued by the suggestion that Konoha support Zabuza in becoming Mizukage.

XXXXXXXXXX

**Flashback**

"If you would aid me in gaining the throne of Bloody Mist I would give you my loyalty Hokage-sama," Zabuza said.

The Hokage had grinned thoughtfully and licked his lips. "Ku, ku, ku, you are an ambitious one eh Zabuza?" He looked at him consideringly. "Just how much support do you have in the village these days?"

"Many of the ninja there would eagerly rise up to help me if I were to return there with an army." Zabuza knew that was a flat out lie. He had never had that many supporters. After his failed coup the current Mizukage had rounded them all up and exterminated them. That was why he needed money, to buy new supporters.

"Is that so?" Fugaku teased. "Well, perhaps something could be arranged in the future. Though if I were to aid you I would need assurances of your loyalty."

"I will give you whatever you require of me!" Zabuza said instantly.

The Hokage had tilted his head a bit and sent a quick glance at Haku. "We will speak of this again in the future."

No agreement was reached and no promises made. But the meeting had given Zabuza his first real hope since fleeing Kiri.

XXXXXXXXXX

"That's only because you never saw executions back in Kiri!" Zabuza said. "They wouldn't have them out in the open. They'd be held in the arena and they would sell tickets. And they wouldn't just chop their heads off like that. They would open with some animal fights then maybe have some prisoners fight each other to the death. The executions would be the highlight, some would be dipped in tar and lit like a torch, some would be fed to the animals, or thrown in a pit filled with sharpened stakes or maybe torn apart. You would buy your ticket and make a day of it! Ah," he recalled fondly. "Good times."

"That's disgusting!" An angry woman's voice called out. Zabuza halted and turned around to see and angry girl about Haku's age glaring at him. She had on beige pants and a dark blue jacket with the Uchiha symbol on it. "Executions are about administering justice, not entertainment."

Zabuza looked at her and smiled with his sharpened teeth. "Can't they be about both? And the Kiri way the state actually makes a profit."

The young girl glowered at him, obviously not afraid in the least. "This isn't Kiri and we don't hold human life that cheaply."

"You sure?" Zabuza asked. "The lives of those five didn't seem worth much."

Haku reached out and touched his master's arm. "Zabuza-sama, please."

"Oh fine," Zabuza said and began wrapping bandages back around his mouth again. "The show's over anyway, let's go Haku." He walked away.

Haku turned to the young dark haired woman and bowed to her. "My apologies, Zabuza-sama can be a bit harsh at times. But he and I both wish to blend into this village and be accepted."

Uchiha Hisa nodded grudgingly at the polite, and kind of cute, boy. "I suppose it's all right, but he might want to be a bit more circumspect about such things."

"Of course," the boy said and then quickly left to follow his master.

Hisa watched him disappear in the dispersing crowd. _What a cutie, and polite too. I wonder if I'll ever run into him again._

XXXXXXXXXX

Shikamaru had gone to the execution alone and watched in silence. As he headed back _he _did not share his thoughts. He well understood that what had just happened had been an object lesson to the clans, and not a subtle one. _If I can do this to the Hyuuga I can do it to anyone. _He was sure all the clans would understand that.

"Shikamaru!"

He turned around to see a dark haired woman he thought he recognized. "Shizune isn't it?" He asked.

She nodded. "Yes, it's good to meet you." She impulsively reached out to shake his hand. "My sensei and I knew your father; he was a very good man."

"Thank you." Shikamaru said carefully.

"Any way why don't you come to the hospital some time and I'll treat your high blood pressure? I work Monday through Saturday from noon until nine, just come in any time and ask for me." She walked away with a friendly wave. "Ja ne."

_High blood pressure? _He waved back without saying anything.

XXXXXXXXXX

He walked home in his usual disinterested manner. When he arrived he informed his mom he would be in his room until dinner was ready. He then slouched up the stairs to his room.

In his room he locked the door and put the curtains down over the window. Only then did he feel it was safe to read the note Shizune had slipped into his hand.

It read simply, 'I have a message from a friend.'

_What friend? _He thought. _Hinata? Itachi? Her sensei Tsunade? Naruto even?_ One thing was obvious if she was slipping him notes and inventing a reason why they could meet it had to be important and dangerous. "Man this is really going to be troublesome."


	37. The talk

The Lord Hokage was reading a special diplomatic dispatch he had just received from the newly installed Fifth Kazekage. "Ku, ku, ku to think Minato's woman would become the ruler of Suna! I certainly never expected _that!_" Despite the potential seriousness the Hokage seemed quite amused. "What a small world."

"And what does the Kazekage say?" Kabuto asked politely. Despite his youth and inexperience he had been promoted to the position of head of Medical Services and been made a special assistant to the Hokage. He'd also been given another very important job that no one knew about; spymaster for the Hokage.

"Minato's widow condemns me and Konoha for the assassination of her predecessor and for the attacks within Suna. She formally denounces me, is breaking off diplomatic relations, is cancelling our alliance, declaring a trade embargo, and, oh yes, withdrawing Suna from participation in the Chunin exams."

"She stopped short of declaring war though," Kabuto noted.

"It seems she has that much sense at least." Fugaku shook his head as he tossed the message aside. "To think those idiots made someone like her their leader. No doubt they just want to capitalize on a famous last name. She'll probably be nothing but a figure head for the Council."

"She might be rather formidable," Kabuto noted. "She has a strong reputation."

"Having slept with the Yondaime Hokage and having raised a demon does not make one a worthy leader." He dismissed the idea with a wave of the hand. "If she wants to play leader out nin the desert that's fine. I need time to stain this village with my colors. I want peace for now."

"What about Itachi and Hinata?"

"I want you to begin spreading rumors that my, 'son' was plotting to kill me and take over leadership of our clan. Also that Hinata and the Hyuuga elders were supporting him. We'll deny any claims he makes from Suna as delusional lies from a traitor and a patricide."

Kabuto nodded. "Any wild rumors about you're being possessed will seem to be nothing but desperate attempt by him to discredit you."

Fugaku nodded. "Yessssss, I think so."

"That reminds me, it's almost time to prepare the final arrangements for the Chunin exams."

Fugaku sent his assistant an annoyed look. "You expect me to allow a flood of foreign ninja into my village? Don't be ridiculous, cancel the exams."

"Cancel them?" Kabuto said shocked. "But they're scheduled to begin in just a couple weeks! If we cancel them now the other villages will be very upset."

"I care nothing what the other villages think or want," the Hokage snapped. "The exams were the ridiculous invention of the Third following the last great ninja war. He had a foolish notion that the competition would help create bonds between the ninja villages. Utter idiocy! We are all enemies always plotting against one another. When we do cooperate it is only because we believe we can use the other party to further our own ends. Friendship? Trust? These words should be alien to all ninja. We will not bother with this nonsense any longer. From now on I will decide who is worthy of promotion."

"Yes Hokage-sama," Kabuto answered. _Though this will not help our relations with them._

XXXXXXXXXX

Shikamaru arrived at Konoha hospital with his usual bored expression and approached the desk. "I have an appointment with Shizune about my blood pressure."

XXXXXXXXXX

"I'm glad you decided to come in and see me about this Shikamaru," she told him as she strapped on the equipment about his arm. "You'd be surprised how many of even out young ninja suffer from this."

"Well it would be troublesome to have to deal with later," he muttered sounding bored.

Alone in the examination room Shizune carefully leaned over to whisper to him. "I am in contact with the Lady Tsunade. Itachi and Hinata are both safe, but the Kazekage was killed by Konoha ninja. Kushina is now Kazekage, she and Naruto agree to help you. They will go to war in the proper time."

Shikamaru gave a relieved sigh but no other sign of his pleasure. "Thank you," he whispered back. "Please tell the Kazekage and Naruto we are committed and will do our part to be ready as soon as possible."

Shizune gave the barest hint of a nod. Leaning away from him she read the gage. "Well, it's a little high, but not too bad. Just cut back on your salt intake and that should be fine. Please feel free to come in and see me any time you think you need to. I am at your service."

He nodded. "It'll be a real drag but if something important comes up I'll definitely be by."

Shikamaru then went home without drawing any special notice.

XXXXXXXXXX

Zabuza and Haku were walking the streets of Konoha. The people here were used to having ninja walk among them. However there was something about Haku that caused people to give him an extra wide berth. The snake hitai-ite he wore did not help. The people of Konoha had never really trusted the bodyguards, and since the attack they were seen as last remnant of Orochimaru's presence in the village. Most had hoped the Hokage would disband and banish them. That he seemed to be relying on them more and more and was even still recruiting for them was worrisome.

Zabuza noticed the way the people tried to stay clear of him. It pleased him. "Nice to know these dumb sheep know a wolf when they see one."

Haku frowned ever so slightly. "I would prefer if we were more accepted by the people here."

"Don't get too comfy Haku, I don't want you getting soft." Zabuza told him.

"Yes, Zabuza-sama."

"Just remember this is only temporary, we'll be going back to Mist one day."

"Yes Zabuza-sama," he sighed.

Zabuza glanced at him. "What's wrong with you?"

"Do you… not like having a real home again Zabuza-sama?" Haku asked respectfully. "Here we can live in peace and safety. Is this not better than always running and hiding in fear of being discovered by the hunter nin?"

Zabuza chuckled nastily. "Yeah, I admit it's better that living in some hole in the ground scrounging out anything we can. That's the whole reason why we came here. But I don't intend on spending my whole life just serving another. My ultimate dream is to become Mizukage and rule my homeland. Never forget that."

"Of course not Zabuza-sama," Haku replied. "My only dream is to help you reach your dream."

"Good boy," he said and rubbed his head fondly.

Haku smiled back at him happily. Receiving his master's approval always made him happy.

As the two of them were crossing a street a certain girl was coming the other way and happened to spot them. "Hey, you!" She called out.

The two of them looked and saw her come over to them. Haku recognized her immediately. She was a very pretty girl with long dark hair and brown eyes. She had on the same beige pants and dark blue jacket as last time. The jacket bore a large Uchiha fan symbol.

Haku turned to her and bowed politely. "Hello again."

Zabuza saw her and frowned beneath his bandages. "Aren't you that annoying brat from the other day?"

Hisa came to a halt and sent the imposing Zabuza and angry look. "Who are you calling a brat? I happen to be Uchiha Hisa, a ninja of Konoha and niece to the lord Hokage."

Zabuza's nonexistent eye brows jumped. _The Hokage's niece? _He could of course see the attention she was giving Haku. _Now this has possibilities. _"Are you now? Well pleased to meet you again, let me introduce myself," he gave her a formal bow. He could be courteous when the situation called for it. "I am Momochi Zabuza and this is my adopted son Momochi Haku."

"You're his son?" Hisa said in surprise.

"I do have that great privilege," Haku said proudly. "Was there some reason why you wanted to talk to us?"

_Yeah! Because you're hot! _Her face flushed a bit. "Uhm… I was curious since you're obviously a foreigner about what you thought of Konoha."

"Haku, why don't you buy you and her something to eat and you can tell her all about what you think of this place." Zabuza told him.

Haku looked at him in surprise. "But Zabuza-sama we have training scheduled."

"You can skip it, it's fine." Zabuza said.

Now Haku was really surprised. Zabuza _never _permitted him to miss training. "But…"

"Thank you sir!" Not wanting to miss such a golden opportunity she grabbed a startled Haku by the hand and swiftly led him away.

Zabuza watched with an amused smirk. _Good luck Haku, I hope you survive the experience._

XXXXXXXXXX

Hisa led him to a place called Café Miruki and they were soon seated at a small table. Hisa leaned over and put her hand over his as she whispered conspiratorially. "This place let's couples on their first date eat free so pretend to be my boyfriend, ok.?"

"What?"

A waitress came over and saw them sitting closely. "Are you two on a first date?" she asked.

"Yes we are," Hisa looked at him with a teasing grin. "Isn't that right dear?"

"Ah, yes," he said hiding his nervousness.

"Well that's wonderful; your meal is on us then."

They put in their orders and the waitress left.

"That wasn't necessary," Haku told her. "I have plenty of money."

"So do I," she told him. "But this way is a lot more fun."

"Do you do this often?" He asked curiously.

"Yes, but only with really, really cute guys."

A little color touched his cheeks.

"You're blushing," she told him.

"I am sorry."

She grinned. "No need to apologize, you look even cuter when you blush."

Haku felt the heat in his face rise.

"Now you're blushing even more," she teased. "What's wrong? Do I make you nervous?"

"Yes," he answered honestly. "I am not used to these sorts of situations."

"You haven't been on many dates?"

"This is my first."

"Well that's hard to believe, I'd expect a guy like you to have had a whole bunch of girlfriends."

Haku shook his head. "My life up until now had been dedicated to survival and growing stronger. There has never been any opportunity for socializing."

Hisa looked closely at him, now very curious. "What sort of life have you had?"

"I prefer not to speak of it," Haku told her politely.

"Oh? You trying to be a man of mystery?"

"No, it's simply my past is not a happy one and I would prefer not speak of it."

"Hmmm, well o.k., I won't push if you don't want to talk about it. Tell me, what do you think of Konoha?"

"I like the village very much. Truthfully I would like to remain here for some time."

"And what do you think of the girls here?" She teased.

He looked her in the eye with a calm expression. "I find them to be quite beautiful, especially you."

Hisa felt her heart suddenly begin to thump.

"You are blushing," he told her.

XXXXXXXXXX

Haku returned to the tower in training ground 44 where all the bodyguards were stationed. Zabuza was sprawled over a couch having a beer when he entered. Seeing clothes on the floor Haku immediately began picking them up.

"So how was your first date?" Zabuza asked with a chuckle.

"It was not a date Zabuza-sama," Haku informed him. "We simply had a meal and talked for a time."

"Hate to tell you this Haku but that is pretty much the definition of a date. Did you have fun?"

"I am not sure," Haku said as he put the clothes in the hamper. "It was very interesting and I rather enjoyed talking to her. But I remained on my guard the whole time."

"Well, you never let your guard down completely, but if you're with a pretty girl you should relax a little and enjoy yourself. She won't bite. Well, she probably won't, there was this Geisha I knew back in Kiri though." He sighed fondly. "Ah, good times. Anyway did she give you her phone number?"

"Yes Zabuza-sama."

"Good, when do you plan to call her?"

"Call her? I did not plan to; I accepted her number out of simple courtesy."

"She's the Hokage's niece; this is too good a chance to pass up. You're dating her."

Haku stared. "Is that an order?"

"Yes."

"Very well, if that is your will Zabuza-sama I will date her. Though truthfully I don't know how to."

"I figured, o.k. have a seat Haku, I'm going to explain just how to deal with women."

Haku sat down in a chair as Zabuza put something on each hand.

"Why are you putting socks on your hands?" Haku asked.

"They're visual aids, now pay attention. This," He lifted his left sock covered hand. "Is me. And this," he lifted his right. "Is a good looking woman. Now I'll demonstrate how I deal with women." He mimed having his left hand walking up to the other.

"How much?" he asked in his usual voice.

"You want full service or the usual?" He answered in a high pitched voice.

Haku sat there rigid and unmoving as Zabuza gave him his version of the 'talk.' It lasted for about twenty minutes; all the while Haku was wishing he could stab kunai into his eyes.


	38. The new exams

Kushina was dressed the blue robes of the Kazekage and sitting behind a desk. Despite what some had believed the world had not ended simply because she had foregone wearing a veil while in her public office. People had soon adapted to her way of doing things. With any luck by the time she stepped down Suna would be a more liberal and open place.

At the moment she was busy reading a number of dispatches that had recently come in, some secret and some not. She had received 'Fugaku's' answer to her declaration. Not surprisingly he claimed to have had no involvement in the assassination by, 'rogue elements' of the Bodyguards. It was interesting how the supposed most loyal force at the Hokage's disposal kept having all these, 'rogue' ninja. (She also found it interesting that the Hokage was still recruiting nuke nin into the Bodyguards, making them larger and more formidable by the week.) He demanded that Itachi and Hinata be turned over at once and declared a trade embargo to be in place until they were. She actually snorted at that. Trade between Fire and Wind had already ground to a halt because of the trade embargo from her side.

She thought the most important part of the message was the statement that despite the grave insult and offense of her actions Konoha would not start a war, 'at this time.' She understood that to mean Orochimaru was not ready yet. He would need time to further strengthen his hold over the village and the clans and to continue to build up his military power. She had no illusions that at some point he would be ready and an attack would come. Her job was to prepare Suna for that eventual showdown.

She looked at another report, this one given to her by Tsunade. It was information about the conditions in Konoha. Nothing really earth shattering there, though she frowned at mention of changes to the ANBU. Apparently the Hokage was having their individual masks replaced by copies of the came death mask. The only difference between them would be numbers painted onto them. It was a small thing, but it was a start in crushing individual spirit and initiative and replacing it with faceless and mindless obedience.

As soon as she was done reading that she burned it. Shizune's life would end if Orochimaru even suspected what was going on. Kushina was not going to leave any evidence anywhere, not even in her personal files.

Though what was happening in Konoha troubled her there was nothing she could do about it at the moment. She moved on to a very interesting message she had received from the Raikage. It had been sent in two parts. One part was in open text, the other in a special high level code. She read both parts with the greatest of interest.

And smiled.

XXXXXXXXXX

"We're going to the Chunin exams? Really?" Naruto said excitedly.

The rest of the team was less excited by that prospect.

"You can't be serious Kushina," Tsunade said with a dire look. "You want Naruto and the rest of us to walk into Konoha and _trust _that snake? Anyway didn't he cancel the exams?"

"Give me a little credit Tsunade," Kushina replied. "Of course I would never send you and the boys to Konoha openly. That's not where the exams are being held."

"They're not? If they're being held somewhere else this is the first I'm hearing of it."

With a smile Kushina handed over the part of the Raikage's message that had been sent in the clear. "Kuno will be holding the exams in two weeks time and invites us as well as the other participants to send whatever teams we feel ready to compete."

"Kuno?" Tsunade said in surprise. "Since when are they so generous? It'll be an expensive undertaking and they'll have to make preparations at breakneck speed to have it all ready in just two weeks."

"Well, the Raikage does love attention, and what better way to have everyone focus in on him? Besides," Kushina said with a purr in her voice. "He has a second purpose in mind."

Tsunade looked at her with interest. "Yes?"

Kushina looked at Tsunade and her team. "This is an S-rank secret, anyone talks they get grounded for six months." The boys paled and nodded. "Tsunade, you're going there as my representative to negotiate a secret alliance with the Raikage."

XXXXXXXXXX

Temari, Kankuro, and their teammate Senya all waited for Baki to arrive. Senya was the same age as Temari and like her was a member of one of the Great Houses of Suna. Looking over at her he beamed, it was no secret he was one of her many admirers and hoped to make her his one day.

"You're looking lovely this morning Temari," he said.

She shut her eyes and rubbed her temples. "Thanks," she bit off. Senya was a damn good ninja and his abilities meshed well with hers and her brother's. For that reason alone she put up with his never ending flirting and requests for time together. She also knew that any likely replacement for him would probably be just as bad.

Kankuro looked at her pain and grinned, he found the situation damn funny. Especially when Senya tried playing up to him in hopes of getting closer to his sister. Idiot didn't realize that the worst thing he could do was be liked by him. Anyone he approved of was immediately crossed off Temari's list of potential suitors.

Kankuro though the list was at about thirty or so, Suna was a _very _conservative place. Especially where dating and marriage was concerned. Before anyone could even think of going out on a date with Temari he had to first be approved as a suitor. That had meant approval by their father, now it meant approval by him. It was a pain but he sorted through the requests and said yes or no, either putting them on the list or keeping them off it.

Once they were approved though Temari was permitted to date whoever she wanted. Despite having about thirty men to choose from she had yet to go on a date. Kankuro knew the reason of course and it left a sour taste in his mouth.

XXXXXXXXXX

"I still want Naruto," she had told him.

"You have got to be kidding me!" Kankuro cried. "He's _twelve_!"

She crossed her arms stubbornly. "I don't care I'll wait. Four years isn't that big a difference."

"Hello, he's got a fiancé, and she's living with him now!"

"So what?" Temari asked. "Plenty of people have arranged marriages, that has nothing to do with love!"

"Geez! When the hell are you going to give up on this stupid crush?"

Wham!

With surprising speed her fan came out and clobbered him. He heard the rest of what she said lying face down on the floor.

"It's not a crush!" She shouted and returned her fan to her back. "I love Naruto-kun and I am going to win his heart."

_Crap, I never thought I'd feel sorry for that little punk. _Rubbing his aching head he knew better than to say that out loud.

XXXXXXXXXX

When Baki arrived in a swirl of wind and sand he had a serious look on his face. "I have some momentous news for all of you. The Kazekage has informed me that she has selected us to be one of the two teams who will participate in the Chunin exams."

"Huh?" Kankuro said articulately as usual. "I thought those got cancelled."

"New ones have just been announced," Baki told them. "These will be held I the village hidden in the clouds in two weeks time. We will have to train very hard to ready ourselves."

"Who… who will the other team be?" Temari's heart was already starting to beat fast. She knew who it _had _to be.

"The other team will be the one led by the Sannin Tsunade, which will include your brother."

"And Naruto!" Temari cried happily.

Senya looked at her sudden joy and frowned.

Kankuro groaned and made the mistake of speaking his thoughts. "Just kill me now."

Wham!

Kankuro was down in the sand bleeding and unconscious.

Baki shook his head in disappointment. "Save the violence for those who are _not _on your team Temari."

XXXXXXXXXX

Once Kankuro had recovered they went through an especially rough practice. Baki was determined to get them toughened up and ready to make the village proud. As she trained all Temari could think about was the opportunity she would soon have. A chance to spend time with Naruto far from Suna and that fiancé of his. She was sure this was her chance to make the boy fall completely in love with her. _After all, _she thought smugly, _I am the number one beauty in this village. I'll make him really see me and want me with all his heart. I'm sure the Kazekage will cancel the arranged marriage if Naruto and I beg her too._

She trained that day with a ferocious will and limitless energy, she intended to impress Naruto-kun in all ways.

XXXXXXXXXX

As all this was going on an ANBU in a cat's mask entered the Tower of Lightning and headed to the Raikage's private office.

Upon entering the young ANBU bowed. "How may I serve you Raikage-sama?"

"I have a special mission for you Yugito," the man told her. "You temporarily be removed from the ANBU and given a pair of Genin teammates."

From behind her mask she stared at the Raikage in shock. She was 25 and had been brought up by the ANBU and served in its ranks since she was 11. She could not imagine life outside her happy ANBU family. "Am I being punished Raikage-sama? If so may I know the offense?"

The Raikage shook his head. "You are not being punished, but I need you to take on the role of a Genin, you and my brother will be placed on a team with another ninja posing as a Genin."

"Kirabi and I will be on the same team?" She asked in surprise. She was the holder of the two tailed Niibi and Kirabi of the eight tail Hachibi. They were each extremely powerful, together they would be enough to overwhelm whole armies. "And all just to win the Chunin exams?" Officially neither of them existed, though they were both well known within the village.

"You won't be winning the Chunin exams, that's not the point." The Raikage told her. "The Kazekage is sending a team here that will include Uzumaki Naruto and Uzumaki Gaara who hold the nine and one tails." He smiled grimly. "I want them killed."

XXXXXXXXXX

In a hidden base in Rain country Pein read the news that a new Chunin exams were being held in Kuno. Much more importantly some of his spies had sent indications that no less than **four **of the Biju would be present. Though it was years sooner than he's intended such an opportunity was simply too good to pass up.

XXXXXXXXXX

**Omake**

Hisa was smiling when she saw Haku approaching with some flowers. He was picking her up for their second date and was right on time.

"Are those for me?" She asked.

Haku nodded nervously and handed them to her. "I hope you like them."

She took them with a happy grin. "I do, they're lovely."

Looking pale and fearful Haku took a deep breath to find his courage. "Ah, Hisa, there is something I'm supposed to ask you."

"What?" She saw how nervous he was and thought it cute as hell.

Haku swallowed and asked her as he'd been taught to. "How much?"

Hisa looked back at him blankly. "How much? How much what?"

Haku quickly shook his head. "Never mind," he told her and got going on their date.


	39. Chunin Selection Exams

"I'm really going to miss you Naruto-kun," Hinata said sadly. It was all she could do just to hold the tears at bay. "How long will you be away?"

"Well if we make it through to the finals about a month and a half or so," Naruto said with a wide grin. "And of **course **we'll all make it to the finals."

"Don't get cocky," Tsunade growled. "The competition will be fierce, and most of the teams will be a lot older and have a lot more experience."

"But will they have higher body counts?" Naruto asked. Michio smirked at that and Gaara even gave a nod.

_Well that's certainly true; no one is likely to have more experience actually killing despite how young they are. _Despite a short time in service Team Tsunade had already garnered a ferocious reputation and had been on several missions to exterminate bandits or other criminal groups. In a serious fight they would have no qualms about using lethal force. "Don't think facing some half trained bandits is the same thing as going against well trained ninja. You'll need to keep your guard up at all times and watch out for each other."

Kushina nodded. "Be very careful and remember these exams are always lethal, at least some of the candidates are always killed."

"Don't worry mom, we'll be fine." Naruto promised easily.

"Well it's time, let's meet up with the other team," Tsunade said.

As the family watched the four of them left.

Hinata's heart ached at seeing him go and knowing she would likely not see him again for weeks.

"Don't worry Hinata," Kushina said comfortingly. "He and the others will definitely be all right. There's no way any group of Genin will be a match for them."

The little Hyuuga girl nodded. "I know, but I'm still going to worry." _Please come back safe Naruto._

XXXXXXXXXX

At the village entrance they found the other team waiting for them.

"Greetings Tsunade," Baki said with a polite nod of his head.

"Hey Baki," she returned.

"Hello Gaara, it's good to see you again," Baki said.

Gaara gave a slight nod in acknowledgement but said nothing. He did not look at either Kankuro or Temari. Kankuro seemed equally willing to ignore him while Temari looked a bit disappointed.

But her disappointment swiftly vanished when she looked at Naruto. In a flash she produced a decorative hand fan which was placed in front of her face covering all but her eyes. "_Hello Naruto-kun, it's so good to see you again." _ She spoke in a sweet sing song voice.

Seeing this Kankuro groaned slightly while Senya's jaw dropped.

Tsunade sent the girl an unhappy look. _Doesn't she know about Hinata?_

Oblivious Naruto smiled back. "Hey Temari-chan, good to see you too."

"Why don't you ever accept my invitations to come over and have tea with me? I really miss spending time with you." Temari asked as she slowly fluttered her fan.

"Heh, sorry about that, I've just been busy with training you know?"

"Well, you should try to find time to visit once in awhile," Temari said sweetly.

Senya was staring at her in disbelief. _She's invited him to have tea with her in her home? I'm her teammate and I haven't been invited there!_

"It's four days there," Tsunade announced. "Let's not waste any time. We definitely don't want to be late." As she spoke she made a mental note to have a word with Temari about proper etiquette towards people who were betrothed.

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

The trip took four days because they were forced to travel without entering Fire country. The journey was mostly uneventful with the two teams more or less keeping to themselves. Tsunade did have a rather protracted private conversation with Temari which ended with both women returning to camp looking furious and refusing to tell anyone what was discussed. Throughout the trip Temari made a special effort to talk with Naruto as much as she could. For his part Naruto was happy to talk to someone who was an old friend.

Though he found it weird how she always had that fan covering her face whenever she talked to him. She didn't seem to use it with anyone else. He wondered if it meant something.

Soon after reaching the border of Lightning country they were met by a two man ANBU team who escorted them to Kumogakure no Sato.

XXXXXXXXXX

"Whoa! Their village is carved into the top of a mountain?" Naruto said sounding impressed. They had entered a mountain range and he had only now spotted Kumo. The top third of a mountain seemed to have been carved up like layers of a wedding cake. There were seven distinct levels with buildings and streets on each. On the highest and smallest level was a single tall building surrounded by what looked like a forest.

"Every ninja village is designed with defense first and foremost in mind," Baki explained. "Just as Suna's location surrounded by sheer cliffs and in a deep desert protects us from attack I think you can imagine the advantages of this place."

Naruto nodded. "Well I sure wouldn't want to try and lead an army here."

Following their ANBU guides they went up the single twisting road that led up the mountain side. As they entered the lowest level of Kumo village they did not notice a pair of ninja who were watching from up above, from the edge of the second level. One was a woman with short cut blonde hair with an ANBU cat mask on. The other was a muscular man with seven swords on his back and a tattoo of bulls horns on his left cheek and one for 'iron' on his right shoulder.

"So that's the Sannin Tsunade and the containers of the one and nine tails. Don't look so impressive to me," the man said.

"Not all jinchuuriki can be as big and imposing as you Kirabi. I don't look so scary do I?"

"Nah, you're a real honey Yugito-chan. I'm going to put the smack down on those two. Show them that the one and only killer Bee is the real and original master of disaster!"

From beneath her mask she frowned slightly. _I really wish he would take this a little more seriously. _"Just remember this will have to wait until the second phase of the exams, the last thing we want is an all out battle between four Biju in the middle of the village."

Kirabi laughed. "Well you gotta admit it would be a rockin' show."

"I really don't want to level the village just to put on a good show."

Laughing the imposing ninja nodded. "That'll be fine; the Killer Bee can wait until then."

"Well let's go," she said. "We don't want to be late."

XXXXXXXXXX

They were led to an empty lot on the bottom level where other teams from other villages had also gathered. There were also piles of heavy looking stone blocks about two feet by four feet. Some of the teams noted their arrival. It was clear their reputation had preceded them as some of them began to hurriedly whisper to one another. Naruto did a quick head count, including his team and Baki's there looked to be thirty squads here. He confirmed that none of them were from Leaf. He hadn't expected any of them would be since they were the ones who had cancelled the original exams. But you could never be sure what kinds of tricks their snake of a Hokage might come up with. There were teams from Mist, Grass, Rain, Waterfall, and it looked like ten of the teams were from Cloud.

"The competition looks pretty serious," Michio noted.

"What you worried?" Naruto asked.

Michio rolled his eyes and snorted.

"All right boys," Tsunade announced. "I have to leave now, senseis aren't allowed to participate or even be present. This is just phase one of the exams though. I'll see you after it's done. Do your best and you had better not lose or I'll never here the end of it from Kushina."

"As if we could lose!" Naruto said.

Gaara nodded. "Whatever is required of us we will make mother proud."

"I'm sure you kids will." Tsunade said with a grin.

XXXXXXXXXX

Baki and Tsunade were directed to a nearby bar where most of the other trainers were also waiting.

Coughing loudly she drew the attention of her fellow senseis. "Pardon me, but would any of you care to bet that my squad doesn't pass the opening phase of the exams?" She opened up her purse and pulled out a _thick _wad of ryu notes. "I'll lay ten to one odds that they will. Any takers?"

"Ten to one?" A ninja from Grass called out. "I'll bet ten thousand." Other s quickly followed suit unable to pass up the odds.

She gladly took all the wagers and they agreed to allow the bartender to hold the money.

Baki sat down to have a drink. _Sucker bets, _he thought.

XXXXXXXXXX

"Wait here a second," Kirabi said.

"Why?" Yugito narrowed her eyes. "What are you up to?"

"I'm just gonna go say hello to a certain fellow." He walked off from their designated spot.

_Oh he wouldn't! _Yugito thought panicked. "Please tell me he's not going to do what I think he is…"

XXXXXXXXXX

Naruto looked up as a bulky ninja with multiple swords approached him and his team. He noted the man had seven of them.

"Yo," he called out in a friendly tone. "You Namikaze Naruto?"

"I am," Naruto answered carefully. He and his family seemed to have enemies everywhere. He wouldn't be surprised if this guy had some sort of grudge or something. "This is my brother Namikaze Gaara and my cousin Uzumaki Michio. There something I can help you with?"

"The name's Killer Bee and I just wanted to scope out the competition. Your reps pretty scary. Even if you are a bunch of kiddies."

"We're old enough to get the job done," Naruto said in a slightly annoyed tone.

"Oh no doubt about it," he said laughing. "You definitely got what it takes, but on this stage there can be only one super star, and that's me. I got a feeling I'll be seeing you around. Take care 'til then. See ya!"

"What the he'll was that about?" Michio asked as soon as the strange man had gone.

"You've got me," Naruto admitted.

"Likely it was just some attempt to shake us," Gaara said. "We should ignore it, but keep an eye out for him and his team."

Naruto simply nodded. They might still be children biologically but all three of them were veteran ninja and had waded through blood. If that guy thought a few words would upset them he was an idiot.

XXXXXXXXXX

"What was that about?" Yugito demanded. "Why did you give them an advanced warning to look out for us?"

"There ain't gonna be no audience," Killer Bee explained. "So I at least want them to be ready for what's comin'. It'll be more fun that way."

"This isn't about fun, this is about a mission," she ground out. _I swear he's a child sometimes!_

Before she could say more there was theatrical puff of smoke in the middle of the empty lot. A ninja with a Cloud hitai-ite and a sword on his back appeared.

"Welcome to the Chunin Selection Exams," he called out. "My name is Omoi and I am the proctor for the first phase. If you'll all settle down I'll explain the rules."

It only took a moment for people to quiet down.

"All right, each squad has been assigned a stack of stone blocks. Each block weighs one hundred pounds and there are twenty blocks in each stack. In other words one ton of stone exactly. The challenge is straightforward, you must get your ton of rocks all the way from here to up there," he pointed upwards towards the upper most level. "You are free to use any jutsu you like to move them, but you are not permitted to interfere with the other squads. We don't need to have you all fighting in our streets. Each block in your stack has a number chiseled into it. To win you have to move all the blocks from your own stack, so don't bother trying to steal any of them from your opponents. The first ten squads to move all their stones to the Tower level pass stage one and move on."

"That's it?" Kankuro called out.

"What? You want something harder?" Omoi asked.

"Just seems kind of straightforward."

"The Raikage respects strength and teamwork, this will test both. Even for ninja moving this much weight quickly will be no joke."

"You said the first ten squads move on," a Rain nin said.

"That's right, only ten teams make it out of this phase, so don't waste your time. Now, if there are no more questions, begin!"

Naruto chuckled. "Too easy," he formed a familiar set of hand signs. "**Kage Bunshin no Jutsu." **There was a large puff of smoke. Even before it cleared a hundred clones began loading up stone blocks.

"You know if you ever decide to stop being a ninja you'll have a great career ahead of you in manual labor," Michio said with a smile.

This would be a breeze.

XXXXXXXXXX

Kirabi had four blocks loaded up in his arms while Yugito and Noboru had one each. They raced through the shortest route to the upper levels.

XXXXXXXXXX

"Crow wasn't made for lifting heavy objects," Kankuro said with panic in his voice. His puppet could lift only two blocks at once. He turned to Temari. "Can't you do something?"

"Don't be an idiot," she huffed. "My wind jutsus are for causing damage not moving things! Anything I use strong enough to lift them I couldn't control that precisely."

"What about you Senya?"

Their other teammate shook his head. "None of my jutsus will work on anything that heavy."

"Crap! It's the hard way then."

They each grunted and lifted a single stone block to follow after Crow.

XXXXXXXXXX

When the first phase was complete the two teams from Suna were reunited with their senseis. Naruto's squad looked fresh. Team Baki… not so much.

"Congratulations on both of you passing phase one," Baki said. "We'll get something to eat then all of you get a good night's sleep. Phase two begins early in the morning."

Tsunade had a huge smile on her face and was busy counting her winning. "Come on, I'll treat."

XXXXXXXXXX

On a nearby mountain side the black and white figure of emerged from a tree. "I've scouted out the area where the second phase will take place and where the teams will start from," Zetsu announced.

"There are plenty of spots for ambush," he said in a slightly different voice.

Around him four figures in black robes and red clouds nodded.

Tomorrow would be an interesting day.


	40. Battle of the Jinchuuriki

Tsunade had called them to the roof of the hotel they were staying in. She was well aware that there were rooms were almost certainly bugged. That was likely true for all the rooms where foreign ninja were staying, but it was even more certain for them. The roof was unlikely to be monitored, even if there was there was a steady wind causing a muffling sound. So long as they spoke quietly they were not likely to be heard even if there were listening devices.

Once they were alone Tsunade huddled them together and spoke in a low voice.

"Something very strange in going on," she told them.

"Can you be a bit more specific?" Naruto asked with a straight face.

"You all know the _real _reason Kushina sent us here, right?"

The boys all nodded silently. Their participation in the exams was purely for show. It was a cover to allow Tsunade an excuse to meet with the Raikage to negotiate a secret alliance.

"Well, I've tried to meet with him but he's given me the excuse that he's too busy with the exams and other matters," Tsunade said.

"Maybe he is," Naruto said. "Mom sure gets busy sometimes."

Gaara shook his head slightly. "That is unlikely to be the case here Naruto. If mother were to receive a secret envoy from one of the Kages I am sure she would make time to meet with him."

"Exactly," Tsunade agreed. "Which means that his excuses are just that, excuses. He doesn't want to meet with me."

"But I thought he was the one who suggested all this in the first place," Naruto said.

"He did," she confirmed.

"Then why would he not want to meet with you?"

"I have no idea," Tsunade admitted. "But whatever the reason it can't be good. _Something _is going on here, but I don't know enough to be able to see underneath the underneath."

"Perhaps he means to betray us," Gaara said coolly.

"Now there's a pleasant thought," Naruto said with a grimace.

"The ninja world is filled with betrayal," Michio said in a despondent voice.

Sighing Tsunade nodded. "It's a very real possibility. If the Raikage is plotting something it will most likely happen tomorrow during the second phase. That is when most deaths occur during the exams. I doubt he would go so far as to start a war with us, but if you happen to be killed during the exams…" She let the thought hang there in the air.

Naruto laughed softly. "He soooo does not know mom if he thinks there's any way he'd live if we got killed here."

XXXXXXXXXX

The ten remaining teams were gathered outside the gates to the village.

"Today's the day we make it all okay!" Kirabi sang out. Many of the others looked at him curiously, Naruto and his teammates among them.

"Will you _please_ be quiet," Yugito hissed at him.

Kirabi grinned at her. "There aint no need to be shy when you're the super Killer Bee guy!"

Yugito groaned and buried her face in her hands. "I really wish you would stop talking like that!"

The proctor for the second test produced a set of ten maps. Two each had blue, green, red, yellow, and brown markings. He handed them out to the ten teams. Team Tsunade received one of the maps with a red seal. Naruto noticed that the weird loud guy who had talked to them yesterday had the other one.

"The second phase of these Chunin exams will test your ability to recover and retrieve someone. On each of your maps you will find the location of a 'lost comrade' a life size human dummy. Your objective is simple, to recover your comrade and return him safely to the village, and to get him here alive. If the dummy takes damage we would judge as lethal you fail. There is only one dummy per area and you can only recover the dummy assigned to you. That means if your lost comrade gets blown up by accident while you're trying to rescue him you're out of luck. At most only half of you can pass. If your opponents find your comrade first you are of course free to try and get him back before they make it to the village. The areas are all located at least fifty miles from here and there is a maximum time limit of twenty four hours. Any questions?"

No one had any.

Naruto glanced at the Cloud nin with the matching map. He was looking back with a huge grin. "You best get ready to rumble, 'cause the Killer Bee will leave ya humble!"

The blonde woman standing next to him groaned and mouthed the words, 'so embarrassing.'

"Why do I get this really weird feeling that something bad is going to happen?" Naruto muttered.

XXXXXXXXXX

At the proctor's signal ten teams took off. One pair heading south, one pair east, one south west and one south east.

Team Tsunade and their Cloud counterparts headed due north. The cloud nins knew the terrain and before long had split away from their rivals onto a hidden path. Naruto signaled the others not to follow. They would head for the map coordinates in their own way.

"What do you think?" Michio called out as they were flying over hills covered in this brush, (ideal country for ambush.) "Is this a trap?"

"It wouldn't surprise me," Naruto said. "I definitely feel like _something _is going on."

Gaara nodded. "That ninja's behavior was certainly unusual and suspicious."

"Unusual?" Michio said with a laugh. "The only way that guy could have been weirder was if he dressed in green spandex!"

XXXXXXXXXX

Hundreds of miles away in Konoha.

"Aaaachoo!" Mait Gai sneezed.

XXXXXXXXXX

"That's what makes me worried though," Naruto said. "The fact that he was so loud and weird."

"What do you mean?" Michio asked.

"Most ninja are expected to act a certain way," Naruto said. "If a regular ninja starts acting too far from the norm he gets put back in place. 'The nail that sticks out is the one that gets hammered down.'"

Michio nodded at the familiar quote. "And no one was trying to hammer him back into place."

Naruto nodded. "So he might not be an ordinary ninja."

Both his teammates considered that.

"What do you believe we will find when we arrive?" Gaara asked solemnly.

"Trouble," Naruto answered. "But no matter how much we find we can deal with it."

XXXXXXXXXX

The 'X' on their map was the middle of a barren stretch of marsh. As they arrived they all saw the other team standing right there out in the open. Their bullish leader had a straw dummy in his hands. Ninja in the middle of a vital competition or mission did not stand out in the open waiting for their opponents. Any ninja with an ounce of sense would either be flying back towards the village or else have an ambush set up.

Naruto and the others landed and halted about a hundred yards away. They all looked at each other with silent understanding. Naruto and Michio drew their swords while Gaara pulled the cork from his gourd. Sand began to spill out and gather at his feet.

Naruto looked at his brother and cousin and made two quick hand signs.

_No prisoners._

Gaara and Michio both nodded to show they understood.

Gaara calmly began performing a long series of hand signs as the sand formed a globe surrounding him.

XXXXXXXXXX

Kirabi turned to Noboru. "You had best flee and leave it to the cat and me."

"I can't do that!" Noboru said.

"It's all right," Yugito stated. "This is a fight between jinchuuriki, if you get in the way you may very well die. You won't be able to do anything."

Noburo looked miserable. He knew their power levels, if their enemies were similar…

"You still here?" Kirabi asked. "It's all good, nothin' to fear. Best all around that you go, stay close and enjoy the show!"

"Er… right." Noburo took off getting clear of the scene of battle.

Yugito looked over to her superior. "This would have been better if we had taken them from ambush."

He laughed. "The Killer Bee wants to put on a show, come on cat and go with the flow."

"I don't suppose you'd be willing to hand over the dummy?" Naruto called out. Gaara would need a few minutes to complete his transformation.

Smiling Kirabi tore the straw dummy in two and tossed it away. "All yours!"

"Well that makes it plain enough," Michio muttered.

Naruto remained calm, a little more time for his brother. "Ask you a question?"

"Shoot."

"Is the Raikage working with the Hokage?"

"Nope, aint go nothin' to with the Hokage or with Konoha," Kirabi replied.

"Then why risk war to try and eliminate us?" Naruto asked. "No matter how you dress it up even if you do manage it you've just killed the Kazekage's two sons and her nephew. You're taking a big chance."

"Don't answer," Yugito hissed.

"It don't matter none, what can they do when they done?" He turned to Naruto. "All this about is numbers son, eight and two against nine and one."

That took a second to register.

"Aw crap!" Naruto turned to his cousin. "Get the hell out of here!" He saw Michio open his mouth to argue. "They're the eight tail and two tail! Get out of here now!!" He nicked himself with his sword and then slammed it back in its sheath. He then opened himself up to the power hidden inside. Thanks to training with Jiraiya he could do it easily. His eyes became red and slitted as his finger tips turned to claws and his teeth sharpened and lengthened. Out of his body red chakra leaked and then flowed out forming a cloak. Three tails formed.

Yugito nodded, glad that the fight was finally here. With a disciplined ease she called on her demon. Blue fire engulfed her as she took on the form of the two tailed Nibi.

Grinning Kirabi transformed as well. A gigantic pink skinned bull with a missing horn and eight tails that looked more like tentacles than anything else. Standing at least fifty feet he towered over them.

Michio cursed as he could feel the immensity of the chakra all around him. Hating it he withdrew into some nearby cover.

Naruto decided to try and take them down with one blow. Concentrating all of his power he ran through a series of hand signs. "**Kamikaze no Jutsu!**"

The air around him grew thick as his jutsu created a thousand sickled blades in the air around him. Each could slice through concrete with ease. With a wave of his hand he sent them flying with hurricane force.

The eight tail was covered in a chakra cloak to match those of the nine and two. In addition he whipped all eight in front of himself like a protective wall. Kirabi let loose a few grunts as the chakra blades struck but they had no effect.

Yugito had hidden behind Kirabi, allowing the more powerful eight tail to be her shield. When the storm winds passed she raced out from behind him. In her human form Nii Yugito was a calm serious person. When he transformed however her demon had a strong influence on her. The desire for blood and battle always washed away everything else. "**Fight me!**" She howled.

Grinning the Kyuubi's jinchuuriki didn't refuse the invitation. "**Fine by me!**" Running on all fours he raced straight at her.

They collided with a deafening explosion as solid blue fire slammed into demonic red chakra. The ground at their feet blew apart into a crater as dirt and rock were sent flying in all directions.

Through this dust and debris the two tail went flying as well.

"**Yugito!" **The eight tail cried. One of the snagged from the air before she landed.

As the dust cleared Naruto was in the center of the crater grinning, still down on all fours. Unlike Yugito though he had not acted on impulse. He was still completely in control of his three tailed form. He had deliberately charged her to keep her away from Gaara and but a bit more time.

Behind him he heard a cracking sound that announced his brother was finally ready.

"**You two are screwed." **Naruto announced with relish.

The shell broke apart and out of it the fully formed one tail Shukaku appeared. The one tail was easily as large as he eight. Slamming all four feet down the one tail growled.

Kirabi put Yugito back down. Despite getting the worst of it she was still eager for battle and immediately charged blindly at Naruto again.

Naruto immediately showed why a ninja should never let rage swallow him. He calmly held out hi palm. **"Rasengan!" **A swirling mass of demonic energy formed and he began running at the two tail. **"Gaara, the big guy!"**

"**Yes!" **Gaara shouted and charged at the eight tail.

As Shukaku bored in the Hachibi lowered his neck and charged as well.

When the two collided there was a massive shock wave as the ground shook and the air rushed away with a boom. The Hichibi's single horn gored deep into the Shukakau's chest spilling out sand and throwing the one tail back.

Even as this happened Naruto and Yugito met for the second time. Again Yugito was charging in on four legs, but this time Naruto was running upright with a fully formed rasengan. As they met they were caught up in the blast of Kirabi's and Gaara's crash. As they were being thrown Naruto slammed him palm into Nibi's side. The blue fire disintegrated as the rasengan passed through and into Nibi. There was a howl of human pain and blood pumped out of the Nibi's wound. The force of the blast sent them flying apart before Naruto could quite drive the rasengan all the way home.

A bit shaken Gaara got back to his feet. Naruto got up immediately. Looking across the way he say Yugito had returned to her original form. She was lying there on the ground unconscious with a serious wound in her side. The Hibichi was standing over her protectively.

Naruto looked at Gaara. "**Let me ride on your back!"**

"**All right.**" The Shukaku lowered his head and Naruto leapt up onto it.

He formed another rasengan and knelt down on the bridge of the Shukaku's nose. **"Let's end this!**"

With a nod Shukaku again charged.

"**You're gonna pay for what you done!**" The Hichibi charged as well. Both sides determined to smash the other.

They were so focused that neither of them noticed a figure high above them circling on a giant clay bird.

Opening his hand Deidara held out a clay owl. "C-3 my most powerful explosive." With a laugh he let it drop. As it fell it grew massively in size.

XXXXXXXXXX

Besides Yugito's sleeping form a black and white figure rose out of the ground. Neatly taking her into his arms they both melted back into the earth.

XXXXXXXXXX

Gaara was aiming to deliver his brother into position for a killing blow.

Kirabi was aiming to skewer Naruto with a chakra horn spear as he slammed Gaara back.

Naruto was getting ready to leap and drive his rasengan straight between the Hichibi's eyes.

All three of them were caught by surprise as the clay bird the size of a house fell between them with a….

**BANG!!!**

XXXXXXXXXX

Everything vanished beneath the vast explosion and fire. When it at least cleared three figures lay on the battlefield unmoving.


	41. Akatsuki

**Omake**

Tsunade was watching as little Miwa hopelessly charged her father again and again with her wooden sword. She was eight now and would being receiving more intensive training in the ninja arts and in the use of the sword.

Tsunade turned to her dear friend and Kazekage with a frown. "Why is that poor girl forced to do this under the hot desert son?"

Kushina gave her friend and enigmatic smile. "Because she's an Uzumaki."

Tsunade stubbornly shook her head. "That's not a good enough reason to make her spend hours upon hours hopelessly fighting her father."

"They're just circle drills," Kushina replied as though it were no big deal. "I did them, Shinzou did them, Naruto, Michio, and even Gaara did them."

"I still don't think she should have to do them," Tsunade said.

"It's an important part of learning to be a swordsmen," Kushina said.

"Well what if she doesn't want to use a sword?" Tsunade asked. "Most ninja don't after all."

"She's an Uzumaki," Kushina said again.

Tsunade frowned at the single minded reply. "What if she doesn't want to be one though?" She insisted. "I'm training Hinata to be a medic nin, why don't I train Miwa too?"

Kushina smiled at her. "She won't be interested," Kushina predicted.

"Well let's at least ask her! May be she would rather study medical jutsus than spend all day swinging a wooden sword."

"All right, let's ask." Kushina agreed.

As Kushina called a halt to training little Miwa bent over panting. She was drenched in sweat and had a layer of sand coated to her face and arms.

Tsunade smiled adown at her. "Miwa honey, instead of wearing yourself out all day with this wooden sword how would you like to study medical jutsus with me and Hinata?"

Little Miwa looked up at her and smiled. "No thank you obaasan, I want to be an assassin like my daddy and spill buckets and buckets of blood!"

"That's my girl!" Shinzou said happily and patted her head affectionately.

"Told you so," Kushina said.

Tsunade gawked at all three of them as they smiled back at her. "Bloody Uzumaki," she muttered in despair and annoyance.

XXXXXXXXXX

Knowing the sort of raw power his cousins possessed Michio had taken cover on a hill about a mile away. He was lying hidden in the tall grass at the very crest of the hill watching the fight play out through his binoculars. He cheered silently when he saw Naruto's rasengan wound one of their enemies. He cheered again as he saw her cloak melt away leaving a beaten, possibly dead, ninja on the field. He watched as both his cousins combined to deliver a killing blow to their remaining foe. He was watching intently when he saw something drop out of the sky in between them.

"What the…"

He cried in pain at the explosion flash and the deafening roar that followed. He scrambled down from the crest to put the bulk of the hill between him and that blast. Even so he was knocked off his feet and slammed to the ground when the shockwave hit.

XXXXXXXXXX

He was only out for a handful of minutes before coming too. _What the hell just happened? _Looking about he could see the grass and shrubs that had been facing the explosion were gone. The blast had had scoured everything in its wake even this far out. If he'd been on the other side of this hill he'd definitely be dead now.

He scrambled back to the crest, even more careful to keep low now that the cover there was gone. Taking his binoculars back out he adjusted them to look at what had been the center of the blast. The lenses brought everything a mile away into sharp focus.

In the center of a huge crater he saw Naruto, Gaara, and that big idiot lying unmoving. They _seemed _to be okay. But the bad news was that there were five people there standing over them in black robes with red clouds. Jiraiya had told them about these guys.

"Akatsuki," he cried in despair.

XXXXXXXXXX

Zetsu emerged from the blackened ground with a still unconscious Yugito in his arms.

"How is she?" The blocky Sasori asked in a gravelly voice.

"She's okay," Zetsu answered.

"She could use some healing though," Zetsu added in a different voice.

"As long as doesn't die that's fine, yeah!" Deidara said. He had landed and had his mount standing nearby.

"This was too easy," Kisame complained. "It was just boring."

"Boring is good," his partner Kakuzu said. "We get paid the same no matter how hard or easy it is."

"We have them," Sasori said. Their leader had placed him in charge. "Get them ready for transport. I don't want to keep our friends waiting."

"So master Sasori," Deidara spoke with a happy smile. "What did you think of my art?"

The masked head beneath a straw hat shook. "I've told you before, those explosion are not art! Art is meant to inspire and last for all eternity! It makes an effective attack but it has nothing to do with art!"

"I agree with Deidara," Zetsu said.

"Shut up you idiot," he then said with a different voice.

"No you shut up!" Zetsu said peevishly.

"Enough," Sasori barked cutting off the ridiculous argument before it got any further. "We will need a full twelve days to harvest these four. We need to get them and ourselves to a secure location for that. The sooner the better, now let's bind them!"

With muttered agreements they produced heavy iron chains and shackled. They also began slapping paper seals over the unconscious jinchuuriki.

XXXXXXXXXX

_Five of them, _Michio though with disbelief._ Five S-ranked missing nin. _As desperately as Michio wanted to rescue his cousins he knew it would be suicide, worse it would be a pointless suicide. The only thing he could do was get a message to Tsunade-sensei while he carefully followed them. The _only _good thing about this situation was that they wouldn't be bothering with chains and paper seals if they meant to kill them right away. As long as they wanted them as prisoners there was still a chance of rescue.

Jiraiya knew as much about Akatsuki as anyone who was not involved with them. Even that was not much though. He had no idea who led them, who their members were, or even what their goals were. All he knew was that they were made up of high level criminals and that whatever they were planning involved the tailed beasts somehow.

Michio heard something. His sword came out as he whipped around.

Fifteen feet away from him was a Cloud nin with a kunai in his hand. "I'm not here to fight you," Noburo said.

"Yeah," Michio said keeping his sword up. "And your teammates _weren't_ trying to kill mine."

"We carried out our orders," Noburo said calmly and without apology.

"It was a trap from the very beginning wasn't it?" Michio asked bitterly. "Did Kuno agree to host he exams _just _to get us here?"

"That doesn't matter now," Noburo said, neither confirming nor denying. "What matters now is that both our teammates and friends are in trouble."

"They're not just my teammates or my friends." Michio said hotly. "They're my kin, my family."

"Then isn't that even more reason for us to work together to save them?"

Michio smiled coldly. "You seriously don't expect me to trust you, do you?"

"You wouldn't be much of a ninja if you did." Noburo said with a mild laugh. "But w can work together even if we don't trust each other. We're the only ones who can bring them help. Right now we have a common cause."

Michio eyed him carefully, ready to attack at any hint of danger. "The enemy of my enemy is my friend?" That was an ancient truth.

Noburo nodded. "Exactly, let us agree to a truce until we can free our comrades."

"Fine," Michio spat out. "But I'll keep my sword out and my eyes open."

"Of course," Noburo agreed. "Now since there are two of us one should go back to Kuno to get the word out and one should stay here to follow them when they move."

"I have a better idea," Michio said and ran through some hand signs. "**Mizu Bunshin no Jutsu." **Water from some puddles and from below ground rose up and formed an exact copy of Michio. The clone immediately took off to the south and was gone from sight. "My clone will get the word out and we can _both _keep an eye on them."

Noburo looked very unhappy with that suggestion. "I have a duty to report to the Raikage."

"Tough," Michio said.

"You expect me to trust you?" Noburo mocked. "You'll likely tell your sensei and no one else."

Michio nodded, not trying to deny it.

Noburo took a quick step to get past him but Michio jumped in his path. The two ninjas eyed one another and carefully focused on possible weak points. The adult Cloud nin towered over the twelve year old, but knew how deadly his foe could be. The Uzumaki were famous for their sword work. He had a dozen lethal jutsus available, but a lightning attack would certainly draw notice from the Akatsuki.

"If we fight one another the Akatsuki will notice it," Noburo said.

Michio gave him a cold grin. "Not if I kill you with one blow."

Noburo opened his mouth to ridicule that notion just as the katana stabbed him from behind. He turned to see the water clone grinning at him from behind. _It was a feint from the start._

The real Michio sliced open his neck to make sure he didn't cry out to alert their enemies. "You should never expect a fair fight from an assassin."

Noburo toppled over and the bunshin got moving again, this time he really was going to Kuno.

XXXXXXXXXX

The senseis were all waiting outside the gate hoping to have their teams return with a straw dummy.

Tsunade was chatting with Baki when people shouted that someone was returning from the north. Since that was the direction her team had gone in Tsunade turned to peer with great interest. The moment she saw there was only one person she got a very bad feeling in her stomach. When she saw Michio halt well away from her and the other senseis and wave to her urgently, her heart sank.

She ran over to him and they had a very urgent whispered conversation.

Turning pale Tsunade shouted for Baki even as she took out a piece of scrap paper and a pen to begin writing a message. Tsunade put her mouth to Baki's ear and spoke for just under a minute. The man stiffened and gave her a single quick nod before taking off to the west. Next she summoned a slug about the size of a small dog. She tied the scribbled message on to the summons which then vanished.

"Excuse me but what are you doing?" The proctor approached her. "You team has not completed this stage and neither has the other Suna squad. If you interfere with your team's performance I will have no choice but to disqualify you."

Tsunade gave him a glare than made him take two steps back. "My team hereby withdraws from these exams!" She said hotly. She turned to Michio. "Let's go!" They headed north.

Watching them and Baki leave in such a hurry the proctor signaled to one of his assistants. Something was going on and the Raikage needed to know.

XXXXXXXXXX

Team Baki was racing back to Kuno as fast as they could. Kankuro had an intact straw dummy on his back.

"I wonder how Naruto-kun is doing," Temari said with a happy sigh. "I bet he and his team make to the finals as well." She was thinking about how wonderful it would be when she'd get to show him how strong she was.

Kankuro grunted, not nearly as excited. "It wouldn't surprise me at all; to be honest I'd be amazed if they didn't reach the finals." He glanced over at his sister. "You do know that means we'll have to face them."

She shrugged. "I don't care as long as I can put up a good showing and make him notice me."

Behind her Senya muttered something.

She looked back at him with a frown. "Did you say something?"

"No," he answered sullenly. He knew by now that it was useless to disparage Naruto in front of her.

They were caught off guard when Baki met them about half way to the village.

"Sensei what the hell are you doing here?" Kankuro complained. "If anyone catches you here we'll be disqualified."

Performing a few quick hand signs a wind blade neatly chopped the head from the straw dummy. "The exams are over," he told them firmly. "As of this moment we are on an S-rank mission."

XXXXXXXXXX

The Raikage frowned at the unexpected report. "So at least one of them lived," he said unhappily. "So much for claiming it was all part of the exams.' He looked at the messenger. "Neither Kirabi, Yugito, nor Noburo have returned yet?"

"No Raikage–sama."

He wouldn't put it past his flighty brother to play around rather than report back, but both Yugito and Noburo were dependable. They should have taken care of the entire team, and if they had failed they should have reported in as quickly as possible. Something was definitely wrong. "Send Karui, Komui, and Omoi out to investigate right now!"

"Yes sir!"

XXXXXXXXXX

Kushina crumpled the paper as her hands shook with rage.

"Is there anything I can do for you?" The slug asked.

"Yes!" Kushina said quickly. "Are you able to travel to the toad realm?"

"Yes of course," the slug replied.

"Please go there and ask them to pass on everything you have told me to them and ask them to contact Jiraiya."

"As you wish lady." The slug disappeared in a puff of smoke.

The Kazekage got up and turned to one of her guards. "Summon the Council of Wind, I want them here yesterday! And call out a general alert and mobilization!"

"We're assembling the army?" The guard said in open surprise.

"You're damn right we are!' Kushina said furiously. "We're going to war!"


	42. Truce

Michio was following them at a safe distance. Despite his young age tracking and moving with stealth had been burned into, they were skills vital to any assassin. The Akatsuki had tied up their prisoners and coved them with seals. The really big Cloud nin had been tossed on the back of a giant clay bird that was flying overhead. Each of the others were being carried on the back of an enemy ninja. Despite the burden of carrying prisoners the five of them were heading east at a fast clip. The blonde Akatsuki was riding on the clay bird with his prisoner while the others were running through the countryside. It was all Michio could do to keep up with them while masking his presence. As he went he deliberately left footprints behind in soft earth or snapped off some plant stems, leaving an obvious trail that any ninja would spot.

XXXXXXXXXX

"There's another one!" Temari called. She pointed to a pair of footprints.

"You don't have to keep pointing them out," Michio's clone said in annoyance.

"But what if you missed it?!" Temari demanded.

"I'm an assassin of the Uzumaki clan," Michio snapped. "Do you think you're better at tracking than me?"

"Both of you knock it off!" Tsunade growled. "I know you're worried but there's no point in arguing with each other." Baki and his team had met with Tsunade and Michio's clone and together they were in pursuit of the ninja who had taken Naruto and Gaara.

"When we catch up to them we'll attack and rescue Naruto-kun and Gaara-kun, right Tsunade?"

"We'll see," was all she would say in reply.

"What does that mean?" Temari asked angrily.

"It means our enemies are five S-rank ninja and we can't afford to take them lightly or just rush in the moment we catch up." Tsunade told her. "If an opportunity presents itself we'll attack, but not otherwise. Kushina knows what's happening and she's sent me a message saying she is on her way with reinforcement. So unless I see them in immediate danger or I see some kind of opening we are going to do no more than keep an eye on them."

Temari opened her mouth to argue but was cut off by a cough from her sensei.

"Temari," Baki said in reprimand. "Stop arguing with the Lady Tsunade, she is a Sannin and in command here. Use your head as a ninja is supposed to and stop wearing your heart on your sleeve."

Her face turned a deep red. "Ye… yes Baki-sensei."

"Don't be so worried Temari," Tsunade told her. "I've already lost too many people I love. There is no way I'm going to lose either Naruto or Gaara too. That is not even a possibility."

Temari nodded, and the six them kept on as fast as they could.

XXXXXXXXXX

"What the hell happened here?" Karui said angrily. They'd found the body of Noburo and the evidence of one hell of an explosion. There was no sign of Kirabi, Yugito, or the Suna jinchuuriki.

"Whatever it was there's trail heading east from here," Omoi said. "I'm guessing that's where Tsunade and the other sand nin have gone. There's nothing for us to do but follow." He ran through some hand signs. "**Raikou Bunshin no Jutsu."**

Lightning flashed down from a clear sky and became an exact copy of Omoi. Without any instruction he took off to bring back news of what they had found to the Raikage. With that taken care of they followed the trail that had been left behind.

XXXXXXXXXX

"What's going on?" Hinata asked. "Why is everyone leaving all of a sudden?"

Along with Kushina her brother Shinzou, Kakashi, Itachi, and that weird woman Kakashi liked, Anko, were all leaving. And there seemed to be a large number of other Suna nin getting ready to depart as well.

"Don't worry Hinata," Kushina said reassuringly. "There's been a little problem in the village hidden amid the clouds. I'm just going there to take care of it."

"Does this problem involve Naruto-kun?" Hinata asked worriedly.

Kushina nodded. "Yes, and Gaara too, which why I have to go straighten things out. Don't worry though, everything will be fine."

"If Naruto-kun is in trouble please let me come too!"

"I'm sorry Hinata," Kushina told her. "This mission is too dangerous for me to bring along anyone as weak as you." She saw Hinata flinch. Her words were blunt and no doubt stung, but Kushina believed there were times when harsh truths were needed. "Uncle Saishu please watch out for her while we're gone."

He nodded. "I'll take care of her," he promised.

Kushina bent over to look at the little girl eye to eye. "Please don't worry Hinata. I'm getting my sons back even if I have to pile up the bodies until the block out the sun."

Seeing the fierce look in her eye Hinata could only gulp and barely nod her head.

"All right let's go then," Kushina said and the other ninja followed her swiftly out of the compound.

"Until the bodies block out the sun?" Kakashi asked. "That's a rather disturbing image."

Kushina turned to him. "I wasn't trying to create an image; I mean **exactly **what I said. I'm getting my sons back no matter what I have to do or who I have to kill."

One hundred of Suna's elite Jonin had been assembled and followed her as she left the village and began the long journey north. As small as their numbers might be they were more than a match for any ordinary army.

Suna was going to war.

"It's been quite a long time since I've been to war," Kakashi noted sadly.

"Same here," Kushina said. "But I'm sure it'll come back to us."

XXXXXXXXXX

It was well after sunset when the members of Akatsuki finally came to a halt.

"All of you can get some sleep," Sasori informed them in his gravelly voice. "Since I don't need any I'll keep watch."

"Fine by me," Kisame said. He nodded to the prisoners. All four were tied up to a single thick tree trunk. They were all covered from head to toe with paper seals designed to suppress their power and keep them unconscious. "What about them? Do we feed them?"

"Not yet," Sasori said. "None of them are going to die from hunger or dehydration. Leave them as they are for now, it'll be less bother."

"I say we wake them and let them know what's coming, yeah!" Deidara said. "It'll be more entertaining that way! This whole mission has gone so smoothly it's been really boring."

Kisame had a blood thirsty grin. "That _would _be pretty entertaining." He agreed. "Maybe some of them would even beg for their lives."

"Wake them up!" Zetsu said.

"No don't," he said in a different voice.

"Leave them as they are for now," Sasori said in an exasperated snarl. "We'll wake them when we get them to our base, well three of them at any rate."

"How come only three? Yeah." Deidara asked.

"What would be the point of waking the first one we separate?" Sasori asked.

"It might be funny," Kisame said.

"Get to sleep, all of you," Sasori grumbled in annoyance.

XXXXXXXXXX

From a half mile away they looked through some bushes toward the temporary Akatsuki camp. Tsunade and Baki were looking things over carefully though their binoculars. They had long since caught up to the real Michio.

"What do you think?" Baki asked. "Only one of them is awake."

Tsunade nodded. "But the others are all asleep near their prisoners. Can we be sure to take out that one before he wakes the others? Whoever he is he's an S-rank opponent, he won't be easy to eliminate."

"I'll do it," Michio volunteered.

"No," Tsunade said instantly.

"But…"

"No buts," she cut him off sharply. "I _know _you're skilled Michio, that's not the issue. The problem is we can't be sure you could take him out in one blow and silently. If you didn't, not only would you be dead but Naruto and Gaara will be put in serious danger. We have no idea what their mission is or their objectives. They might even have orders to kill their prisoners if there's a serious chance of their being liberated. For now we'll continue to watch and wait."

Unhappy, but understanding the logic, Michio gave a silent nod.

Without warning a black and white slug appeared in a puff of smoke before Tsunade. "Mistress," the slug spoke. "We have visitors."

XXXXXXXXXX

Karui, Komui, and Omoi were approaching the spot where Tsunade and the others were hidden.

"Stop right there!" Tsunade called out.

The three of them did halt and take up a defensive position as the other Suna nin came out of hiding and formed a perimeter around them.

"What have all of you done to Kirabi and Yugito?" Karui called out.

"Nothing," Tsunade said. "It just so happens they were captured by members of Akatsuki along with Naruto and Gaara."

"You're lying!" Karui snapped.

"You damn Cloud nin are in no position to call anyone else a liar," Michio called out. "We know all about the trap you set for my teammates."

"We followed the orders of the Raikage," Omoi said calmly. "If you're a ninja you understand that."

"Even for ninja there are limits of acceptable behavior," Tsunade said coldly. "To use the Chunin Exams in order to ambush a team violates agreements made between many of the ninja villages. When they hear about this not only will the Raikage's reputation suffer but I expect it will be the end of the Chunin Exams." _Which is a pity, they were supposed to foster friendship and cooperation between the villages._

"That's as may be," Omoi said, still outwardly calm. "At this point we no longer care about Naruto and Gaara. Our only concern is retrieving our sensei and Yugito. If you'll allow us to take them with us we will leave you in peace."

"Like we'd believe that," Michio muttered.

"I don't care what you believe," Karui snapped. "Hand them over or face the consequences."

"You think you're in a position to make threats?" Temari asked opening up her fan to reveal three 'moons.' "Make a move and we'll find out."

"Hold it!" Tsunade called out and raised both hands out. "If we have a battle that will alert Akatsuki."

"You expect us to believe to believe someone else has out people?" Karui asked sarcastically. It was clear she did not believe it.

"If that were not the case we would not have wasted time talking to you," Baki said. "We would have simply ambushed you."

"Besides," Tsunade pointed out. "Why would we be going east_ away _fromSuna? Don't you think that if we were in control of the situation we'd be heading back to the land of wind as fast as we could?"

The three cloud nin looked at one another. They had indeed wondered why the Suna ninja would travel in this direction towards the sea and away from the path home. They had all assumed they were planning to take a ship to escape.

"Why don't we call a truce?" Omoi suggested. "And you show us where the Akatsuki are."

"All right," Tsunade agreed warily. "A truce."

XXXXXXXXXX

Once they had seen for themselves that their friends really were prisoners of Akatsuki the three of them drew off and had a short conversation.

"We'll work with you to free them," Karui stated and made it sounds like she was making a huge concession.

"And what happens if we do free them?" Tsunade asked curiously.

"Like I said before," Omoi answered. "Our only interest is getting our own people back. Once we have them I suggest we both go our own ways." _That is unless we receive orders from the Raikage to do differently._

"Fine," Tsunade said. "**But **you don't get to send any messages to the Raikage."

Karui scowled and opened her mouth to refuse.

"We can agree to that," Omoi said.

"What?" Karui said hotly. Their other teammate Komui also looked at him questioningly.

"I'm sure the Raikage will understand the situation," turning to his two teammates he flashed a quick hand sign against his chest which only they could see. His teammates eyes widened just for an instant.

"Yeah, I guess you're right." Karui said, her previous hostility now absent.

"Makes sense to me," Komui agreed as well.

"Well then, looks like we have a truce," Omoi said.

"Looks that way doesn't it?" Tsunade said carefully. _What just happened?_

No one on either side looked as if they trusted the other any more than they had at their first meeting.

XXXXXXXXXX

During the night Sasori kept a careful and constant vigil. Despite that he failed to notice two ordinary looking slugs slowly crawl through the grass and into their camp. Even if he had spotted them in the tall grass it was unlikely he would have thought anything of them.

Unnoticed one crawled onto Naruto and one onto Gaara.

XXXXXXXXXX

Also going unnoticed was a lightning clone that Omoi had made earlier and left to trail behind the party.

Having ascertained the situation he began the long trip back to his village. It would be several hours before he could get back to report though.


	43. Hiatus

Hello everyone. This is to inform all my readers that I am placing all my stories on hiatus until at **least** the end of the year. I am very sorry but I have no real choice. I am a senior accounting student at the University of South Florida and am gearing up for my finals and trying to graduate with my BA. After which I have lots of other things I need to deal with, not least of which is trying to find a good job in this economy.

I absolutely **love** writing. I love reading your reviews and messages, except when they smell of napalm of course. And while I write for myself please be assured I have always been amazed and honored to see so many people putting my stories on their favorites and alert lists. It has been a very great pleasure writing all these stories, and it has made me extremely happy to know how many of you honestly enjoyed what I wrote.

I thank you all.

But it's because I love writing so much that I have to stop for awhile. My writing has become my addiction and my keyboard my escape from the world's problems. So I need to walk away for awhile and put all my energies and time into real life problems.

I still plan on coming back as I love writing too much to ever stop for good and I don't want to leave my stories unfinished. This is not goodbye, just so long for now.

LOTLOF


	44. Rescue

**Author's Notes: **I have recently opened a website for original stories I have written. Any of you who might be interested can go to my profile page for the link.

XXX

"Naruto-sama?"

His head was aching and he felt strange, as though his body were somewhere else. He slowly opened his eyes to see he was bound hand and foot and covered with perhaps fifty paper seals. It took an effort just to turn his head a bit. Moving his arms and legs or molding chakra seemed far beyond his reach. He saw he was tied to a large oak. He quickly noticed his brother tied to another tree and the Cloud jinchuuriki to two others.

"Naruto-sama?"

Naruto refocused and noticed the two inch slug resting on his shoulder. "Katsuyu?" He mumbled, even talking was proving to be an effort. "Thank kami, where's Tsunade–sensei? Is Michio okay?" The last thing he remembered was fighting Karabi when he got hit by a major explosion.

"Your cousin is well. The Lady Tsunade and the others are about three hundred yards away, along with three Cloud ninja."

"Cloud ninja? Why? They're the ones who attacked us." His fuzzy brain suddenly noted the incongruity that the ones who'd attacked them were also tied up and unconscious.

"You have all been captured by Akatsuki," Katsuyu informed him and quickly filled him in on the details.

"Akatsuki," he muttered. Jiraiya had warned that some day they would come for him and his brother. It had been just one more danger, one more threat to be dealt with eventually. Dealing with Orochimaru and Konoha had been the more immediate problem though. Whenever he saw his mom again he would have to confess to getting blindsided. Not once but twice, the Cloud ninja had suckered them too. Ninja weren't supposed to be taken by surprise like that. He would need to do some serious work on his observational skills.

That was for later though.

"Did they drug me? My body feels like it's made of mush."

"The seals over your body are designed to suppress all of your chakra. They are allowing you just enough for basic life functions."

"Can you get them off me?"

"Yes," Katsuyu said. "Lady Tsunade wishes to know if you also want to help your fellow prisoners. There are five S-ranked enemies; it might help to have them join in."

His reply was instant. "No, I don't trust them. We can deal with them ourselves."

Katsuyu was silent a moment as he relayed the information. "Lady Tsunade agrees with you. When you and Gaara are ready they will attack along with you."

"Right."

Katsuyu slid down to the nearest paper seal and spat out a stream of very weak acid. The seal blackened and shriveled. The slug turned to the next seal and continued on.

Naruto looked back over to Gaara and noted he was awake. His wrists were bound together but his fingers were free. As Katsuyu destroyed more and more of the notes he began to feel better and started to recover his motor skills. With the fingers of one hand he sent Gaara a signal.

"_Uninjured?"_

Gaara saw and signaled back. "_Yes."_

"_When ready joint assault."_

"_Yes," _Gaara signaled, then added. "_Special weapon?" _

"_Yes."_

"Katsuyu," Gaara whispered. "Please tell Tsunade-sensei to expect Shukaku."

XXX

"I understand," Tsunade replied in a low voice. She looked at the others who were waiting impatiently for her words. Michio and Temari looked particularly desperate. The cloud ninja hung separate from the rest, eyeing her with open suspicion. When Michio glanced at them his fingers drifted towards the hilt of his sword.

"I was able to contact both Gaara and Naruto. They'll be free soon; we'll attack the Akatsuki together."

Michio, Temari, Baki, Kankuro, and Senya all nodded.

"What about Karabi and Yugito?" Karui demanded.

"We can rescue them once the fight is over," Tsunade said.

"There's no reason to!" Karui shot back. "If you can free your people you can free them too!"

"Naruto doesn't trust them, and since they caused this problem I'll rely on his judgment."

"What do you mean, they caused this?" Omoi asked angrily.

"If they hadn't attacked Naruto and Gaara they wouldn't have been captured by Akatsuki."

"They probably would have anyway!" Omoi shot back. "They're just kids even if they do have Biju. Who says they would have been a match for five S-rank ninja?"

"They were not the only ones who were captured." Baki pointed out. "Your people did no better against them."

Omoi opened his mouth to argue further but stopped when Komui put a hand on his shoulder. "We don't really care who is better than whom right now. All we care about right now is saving them."

Karui nodded. "We're here to rescue Karabi-sensei and Yugito. You need to wake and free them too."

"No," Tsunade said flatly. "You can free them yourselves after we beat Akatsuki."

"That's not good enough!"

"Well if you prefer there's another way we can take care of this," Michio put his hand on his katana.

"You want to try it brat?" Omoi stepped forward.

"Calm yourselves," Tsunade hissed at them. "If we fight now we'll alert the enemy."

"If you plan to betray us anyway that's just as well," Omoi said.

"You damn Cloud nins betrayed us fist!" In a flash Michio had his sword out.

The Cloud nins had kunai ready and were in fighting stances instantly.

Baki readied to use his most lethal wind jutsus while Temari opened her fan and Kankuro laid out the scrolls for his puppets. Senya held square ceramic tiles in both hands to use for his favorite jutsu.

The fragile truce was ready to break apart.

XXX

Sasori felt a sudden killer intent in the nearby woods, several of them.

"Everyone wake up!" He shouted. "We have visitors!"

Veteran ninja the others woke and were ready to fight immediately.

XXX

"Damn it! They know we're here!" Tsunade cried. She looked at the Cloud nin. "We need to fight them not each other!" She had no time to wait for an answer and turned to her fellow Suna nin. "Attack them with everything you have! We need to buy Gaara and Naruto more time!"

She charged out towards the enemy camp with the other sand nins right behind her.

Komui and Omoi were set to follow but halted at a signal from Karui.

"Screw helping them! Let them get Akatsuki's attention, we'll rescue our people while they're busy fighting them."

"Right!" Omoi agreed.

XXX

"Damn it not yet," Naruto growled. Less than half the seals had been removed. He could move again, but didn't feel anywhere close to full strength. There was no more time though. He stopped pretending to still be asleep and quickly began to free himself from the ropes as Katsuyu continued working on the seals.

Gaara was doing the same as nearby a battle began.

XXX

Spinning ceramic tiles smashed into Sasori's face and neck. They struck with enough force to easily decapitate an ordinary human. A large shard remained firmly lodged just below the right eye. Senya was startled to see his enemy not only still alive but not even bleeding.

"Not a bad jutsu," Sasori allowed. "However it is not effective in my case." A tail lashed out form beneath his blocky body and speared the poor Suna nin right through the chest. The boy squirmed painfully like a hooked worm.

"Senya!" Baki completed his jutsu and let loose several lethal blades of concentrated wind. He had better luck with his jutsu than his student had had with his. Sasori's head was cut off this time, as were both arms, and the metal tail was cut neatly in two. There was no blood but Sasori crumpled to the ground.

Baki ran over to his student to see if there was any chance for him. The metal hook was still planted in his chest and Senya was no longer moving. Checking for a pulse Baki found none.

"Very good, it's been a while since I've been forced to use myself in battle," a young voice spoke.

Baki saw a young red haired man climb out of Sasori's body.

"Who are you?" Baki demanded.

The young man nodded politely towards him. "I am Sasori of the Red Sand." He held out one hand palm open and sent a jet of flame Baki's way.

XXX

Kisame grinned at the boy who was coming straight at him with a katana as he unslung Samehada. "You're kidding right? Do you have any idea who I am?"

"Hoshigaki Kisame," Michio answered. "Do you think there's any way I'd pass up the chance to fight one of the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist?"

"You've got guts kid I'll give you that." He brought his sword down aiming to shave off a good bit of the young Uzumaki.

Michio blocked but was in no way ready for the raw strength of the blow and was shoved back several feet. A feral grin filled his face as he drew Samehada back for another blow. He swung down again only to have his sword caught in a ninja's hand.

Barbs exited the sword's blade piercing Tsunade's already bleeding palm. She grunted in pain but held tight. She yanked the sword forward bringing a startled Kisame in towards her. Her other hand was a fist surrounded by chakra. She slammed it into Kisame's face sending him flying and separating him from his sword.

Michio got to his feet he sent the gigantic sword a look of pure longing. "I call dibs." He ran at Kisame to attack him as Tsunade tossed the weapon aside and healed her hand.

XXX

Deidara had created a giant bird and was just rising into the air. "A chance for art! Yeah!"

"Where do you think you're going?" Temari shouted and swung her fan. "**Hiroi Tatsumaki no Jutsu."**

A vast whirlwind escaped her fan and captured the unfortunate nuke nin and his clay steed.

"Yaaaaaaah!!" Deidara cried as he was tossed away.

XXX

A ninja in a hood and mask heard clicking sounds followed by a flight of kunai came at him. A burst of wind knocked them all aside.

"Nice trick," Kankuro called out. "Now let's try something more direct!" He sent Karasu flying in on a direct attack.

Kakuzu was not impressed. From out of his robe came a series of black strings that caught the oddly shaped puppet. A massive stream of fire then obliterated it.

Kankuro could only watch as his one weapon was annihilated. "Crap."

XXX

Naruto was relieved to see that his sword and all his personal gear had been left in a pile by the tree where he'd been tied up. As soon as he'd freed himself he'd quickly torn off the remaining tags.

"Gaara, use _that _jutsu."

"Understood." He calmly began to perform a long and complicated series of hand signs. The sand from his gourd formed a sphere around him. He was momentarily isolated but would be available in a matter of minutes.

Naruto was only just belting on his sword when a figure rose up out of the ground in front of him. He was half night black and half bleached white.

"And where do you think you're going?"

Naruto didn't waste any words. His katana was in both hands and he had no trouble at all cutting the man's head off with just one blow. The head rolled away as the body fell lifeless at his feet.

"That wasn't very nice," a slightly different voice said from all around him. Dozens of copies of the same ninja were rising up out of the ground.

"It figures it wouldn't be that easy." He ran through hand signs. **"Kage Bunshin no Jutsu."**

The area filled with smoke as a couple hundred shadow clones came to life and fell on the copies that were still coming out of the ground. Naruto concentrated on destroying his enemy as more and more copies kept appearing to be hacked down.

As Naruto and Zetsu battled neither noticed as three figures swiftly freed Karabi and Yugito and vanished into the woods.

XXX

"So what now?" Omoi asked. He and Komui were carting their sensei while Karui had Yugito over one shoulder.

"We get clear of the fire zone and help them wake up. With any luck at all they'll all kill each other," Karui said.

"What if they don't?"

"The orders from the Raikage haven't changed. If Naruto and Gaara are still alive we'll have to eliminate them once sensei and Yugito are up to it."

XXX

When Naruto heard a cracking sound from Gaara's sphere he knew it was time for a new jutsu. He bit down on his thumb and ran through some hand signs. **"Kuchiyose no Jutsu." **

There was a huge burst of smoke as a gigantic red and black toad appeared. Naruto was standing atop his upper lip. "Naruto! I heard from Katsuyu you were captured!"

"I was Gamabunta," he told the boss summons. "Now I need your help to deal with the ones who did it."

A moment later Gaara's sphere broke open and a fully formed Shukaku was standing at Gamabunta's side.

XXX

Baki was panting and lying on the ground behind the severed trunk of a tree. All the trees in the area had been cut down. A completely unwinded Sasori was standing in the middle of the newly made clearing looking about. Out of each arm five blades were spinning about in a perpetual blur.

His attention was drawn to the newly arrived Gamabunta and Shukaku. Looking about he quickly sized up the situation. His idiot partner was missing as was Zetsu. While none of the other ninja they were fighting were very notable Tsunade was here and she could bring another summons to the battle. That was just too much for just the three of them to deal with.

"Too bad, it was going so well." He called out. "Let's go! We have to retreat!" He himself used his blades to dig into the ground and escape.

Kisame cursed at the need to leave without his beloved sword but saw there was no choice and fled.

Kakuzu saw no profit in staying and so also retreated.

With that the fight came to a sudden end.

XXX

When they all reunited Naruto was caught off guard as Temari gave him a ferocious hug that knocked him to the ground. He found himself pinned underneath her with her face looking down at his, separated by just an inch or so. She thought that she could pretend to slip and 'accidentally' give him a kiss.

"You two want five minutes alone?" Kankuro asked with a grin.

Temari scrambled off him and sent her brother a murderous look. She would 'thank' him for that later.

XXX

Poor Senya was given a hasty burial and a few spoken words by his sensei Baki. It was not much but there was no time for more. They had rescued their friends but they were a long way from safe.

"We're well east of the Village Hidden within the Clouds and we don't dare turn west again," Tsunade outlined. "Unfortunately that leaves us in the middle of a hostile country with nowhere to go."

"So what do we do?" Naruto asked.

"Our best bet is to head south to the sea and try and book passage out of lightning."

"I agree," Baki said. "That is our best choice."

As they got ready to leave Naruto looked over to his cousin Michio. His cousin had strapped on a huge scaly sword that was bigger than he was. "What is that thing?"

"Spoils of battle," Michio said proudly.

They headed south to the coast and hopefully rescue.

XXX

"Are you sure you're all right sensei?" Omoi asked

"Never felt better, I'm as right as sunny weather," the Killer Bee informed them. His students nodded while Yugito winced feeling embarrassed.

"Now you all know what to do," he continued. "Let's find the Suna nin and start round two!"

XXX

"So what do we do now?" Kisame asked.

They had found Deidara unconscious but not seriously hurt. Zetsu had also rejoined them none the worse for fighting Naruto.

"We've regrouped," Sasori said. "Now we go back and recapture the jinchuuriki."

XXX

"Are they ready?" The impatient Raikage demanded. The lightning clone of Karui was at his side.

The ANBU swiftly nodded. "All available Jonin and Chunin have been assembled."

"Then get them moving! The Suna nin, Akatsuki, and especially the enemy jinchuuriki are to be killed on sight!" He turned to the clone of Karui. "Dispel and let everyone know we're coming to support you."

"Yes Raikage-sama," she did so and was gone.

Minutes later a virtual army swept out of the gates of Cloud and headed east.


	45. A temporary refuge

One hundred Suna Jonin did not seem like much of an army. Anyone unfamiliar with shinobi might view them as about as dangerous as a mercenary force of the same size. That would be a very big mistake. This group would easily annihilate an ordinary army one hundred times their size and were enough to conquer whole nations. This was the difference in killing power between ninja and ordinary soldiers, no matter how well trained and armed. It was the reasons the Daimyos had agreed to the formation of the ninja villages in the first place.

Looking at their numbers Jiraiya understood this. He had hurried to meet with Kushina and her troops while they were still inside of Wind country. He noticed the presence of Kakashi, Itachi, and Shinzou.

"You're calling out all your big guns I see." He and Kushina were a little away from all the others so they could talk in private.

"The only reason I didn't bring the whole army with me was because a smaller force like this can move faster and it's easier to hide." Kushina said. "I figure a hundred Jonin should do it."

"Unless you run into another army of ninja," Jiraiya pointed out solemnly. "You know taking a force this size over the border into Fire will be seen as an act of war. If you're discovered Konoha will attack you, and they'll be within their rights to do so."

"I can't reach Lightning country by land without going across Fire. We'll try to stay hidden and get through as fast as we can."

"Kushina this is reckless," he warned. "You're taking a huge gamble not just with all of their lives but with the lives of everyone in Suna. If you're caught…"

"My sons need me," she said tightly. "To save them I'll run any risk."

"You're talking like a mother not like a Kage."

"Everything I've done up until now has been for the sake of my family. Even becoming Kazekage was just a way to safeguard them. Being a Kage means nothing to me if I can't use my authority to protect my children." She gave him a hard look. "So tell me Jiraiya where are your priorities? Tsunade is trapped there as well you know."

"My loyalties have never changed, you know that. I happen to believe Orochimaru, better known as Fugaku, will destroy Konoha unless he's stopped. That's why I've been helping you and Naruto even though it could be seen as treasonous."

"Well that's lovely, but I'm afraid the time has come for you to come out into the open. I want you with me when we attack the Cloud nin."

"If I do that everyone will see me as traitor," he objected. Up until now he had managed to keep everything concealed.

"So what?" She demanded. "Konoha sees Kakashi, Anko, Itachi and Hinata that way. What difference does it make? If you're serious about stopping Orochimaru then sooner or later you're going to have to play that role. If things work out you'll be the hero later, but for the time being you'll just have to live with it. I want you at my side when I go to save them. If you won't help me fight to save my children then I want nothing more to do with you."

"This is a mistake," he predicted. "I'd be more valuable if I could keep my ties to Leaf open."

"I'll trade any future advantage for your help right now. Now are you coming over or not?"

He slowly nodded. When she put it so bluntly there was no other choice. It did hurt him to take this last step and openly turn against the village. He could only hope that in time all would be forgiven after Orochimaru was exposed.

Just as they were getting ready to move Kushina received a message from Tsunade via slug.

"Change of plans," she announced. "We're moving in a different direction."

XXX

The coastal village of Attu was perfect for their needs.

It was a tiny out of the way place, judging by the number of houses there were only a few hundred residents. The village was built on a rocky little island about half a mile out into the bay. It was connected to the land by a simple wooden floating bridge. The coastline here was made up of sheer cliffs that were all about a hundred feet high. Reaching the wooden bridge was only possible through a narrow pass between the cliffs. It was an easily defensible position. Even against ninja who could walk down cliffs any attack would have to be funneled through that pass.

The terrain would also make it impossible for them to be surprised.

"I'll keep some shadow clones on top of the cliffs to keep watch," Naruto said. "I'll be able to see for miles from up there."

Tsunade nodded her agreement. "With any luck we'll be long gone before anyone realizes who we are."

"I see only one problem with this location," Baki pointed out. "There are no ships."

That was true. They could see several row boats out in the shallows and there were a couple flat barges tied up to the island. There were however no sea worthy boats to be seen.

"This is obviously a fishing village and there are docks," Tsunade said. "That means there must be fishing boats too. They're probably all out to sea right now."

"Why don't we just go to one of the coast cities?" Kankuro asked. "We'd be able to get a ship right away and we could hire something a lot faster than some smelly fishing boat."

Temari slapped the back of his head.

"Ow! What was that for?" He asked her angrily.

"That was for being a complete baka!" Temari snapped at him. "You're a ninja! You're supposed to be able to see underneath the underneath!"

"So?" He demanded.

Baki sighed; disappointed his student was not more astute. "Do you really imagine that we could enter a large city, charter a boat, and not be noticed? The Raikage is undoubtedly searching for us as we speak. He will not allow us to leave Lightning country alive after having attacked Naruto and Gaara. No doubt he has sent alerts to all the major port cities in this land to be on the lookout for anyone trying to rent or steal a ship. Getting a fast ship will do us little good if we run into a naval squadron out at sea."

"What are you going to do if our boat gets sunk?" Temari asked him in annoyance. "It's not like we can chakra walk all the way back to Wind country you know."

"They'll probably notice us here too," Kankuro said trying to defend himself.

"I'm sure they will," Temari agreed. "Seven foreigners just showing up out of nowhere in a place like this and renting a boat. I'm sure we'll make quite a stir."

"So how is that any better?"

"Do you think a place like this has phone lines or radio communications?" Temari asked with a voice sharp enough to cut bread with.

"Oh," Kankuro replied feeling embarrassed. "Yeah, I guess they wouldn't."

Phones were standard equipment within most cities and towns. Phone lines running _between _places though were still rare. One could for instance pick up a phone inside Suna and dial up someone on the other side of the village. It was impossible though to call someone in a town twenty miles away. Never mind calling someone hundreds of miles distant or in a foreign country. That was why the ninja villages still relied on birds to deliver emergency and high priority messages. Radio communicators were far rarer and used almost exclusively by shinobi. A little place like this was unlikely to even have any phones. By the time news of the strange visitors got out they would be long gone and on their way back to Wind.

"Come on, let's go and see what they have," Tsunade said.

Crossing over the bridge their weight caused the wooden planks to sink a bit and for the water to lap up over their feet. Though they didn't really need to they held onto the ropes to steady themselves. The planks were slippery and the bridge swayed a little with the ocean current.

"It would be faster just to chakra walk," Kankuro complained.

Smack.

"Ow!" He again glared at his older sister.

"We're going to cause enough of a fuss as is," Temari told him. "No need to advertise that we're all ninja."

As they crossed Naruto sent a dubious look over to his cousin. Michio had moved his katana from his back over to his hip. He was bent forward as he walked with the huge sword he'd brought with him weighing down his back.

"You're not really going to try and use that thing are you?"

"Hell yes I am!" Michio replied with an excited grin. "This belonged to one of the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist. It's an awesome weapon and I'll use it from now on."

Naruto glanced at Michio's hands. Despite all of Tsunade's healing he had both of them covered in bandages. Every time he tried to use Samehada metal barbs came out of the handle. "I don't think your sword likes you."

"He'll get used to me," Michio said.

On his back Samehada suddenly began to stir, almost causing Michio to slip and fall.

"Does your sword know that?"

Michio glared hatefully at the huge weapon. "Knock it off or I'm having you melted down for scrap."

Samehada stopped moving on its own.

Naruto didn't understand why Michio was so determined to wield the thing. For Naruto his katana was like a part of him, an extension of his body and will. He couldn't see why anyone would want a sword that was more an enemy than anything else.

XXX

Attu was a shabby looking place. The little houses were all the color of wood left to bleach out in the sun. The people here were dressed in grey cloth and few of them bothered wearing sandals. Their faces all had that rough weather beaten look of folk who lived on the ocean. The people all stopped to stare at them as they came over the bridge. Obviously they weren't used to visitors and had probably never laid eyes on ninja before. Never mind seven at once, never mind foreign ninja at that.

Tsunade had considered having them use henges to disguise who they were. Then she had decided not to bother. A group of rich merchants showing up here to rent a boat would probably cause as big a stir. Whatever happened the news of it was unlikely to get out too fast so she decided to simply appear as ninja and use that to overawe everyone.

There was no hotel in such a small place but the only tavern did have a couple of tiny rooms available for them. It was there that Tsunade and the others learned the five fishing boats were all out to sea and would not return until about sunset the day after tomorrow. Kankuro made as if to say something but an elbow in his ribs kept him quiet.

"Do you think I could rent out one of those ships?" Tsunade asked. "Me and my friends need to get somewhere and it's important we leave as soon as possible."

The tavern owner was a big burly man named Hiro. He looked at her and the others questioningly. He'd had no objection to providing all of them with food or agreeing to rent out his two rooms. Talk about renting one of the boats made him a bit uncomfortable.

"That would be between you and the ship's captain," he told her. "I doubt any of them will be willing to set out right away though. They'll all want to take care of their catch first."

"I'll buy their catches," Tsunade said simply. "I can pay them whatever they want." She could too. Both she and Baki had cleaned up thanks to their bets during the first phase of the exams. If she needed to she could get additional funds from Kushina delivered to her by Katsuyu.

"Well," the tavern keeper admitted. "I suppose if you're really that willing and can afford it I guess you'll get one of them to help you."

"Good, the day after tomorrow then we'll be on our way."

As soon as they were in their rooms Tsunade took out pen and paper and sent Kushina an update on their situation.

XXX

Kirabi looked over at Yugito. "You sure this is the way my fiery cat? We need to find them quick, you know stat!"

She groaned. "Do you have to talk like that? Can't you talk like a normal shinobi? Please?"

"Sorry cat, but you know I can't do that. I'm the one and only Killer Bee and I've got to talk fast and free."

She suppressed another groan. _Why do I even bother? _"Yes, I'm sure they went this way. Or do you doubt my sense of smell?"

"Got no doubts at all, I'll follow you complaints and all."

"Great," she muttered. His team was following along with them. When they found Naruto and Gaara again they would need to hang back and leave the fighting to her and Kirabi. Sniffing the air she picked up some new scent up ahead. "Damn. We have to stop and get ready to fight."

She halted and so did the others.

"You found them here?" Kirabi asked excitedly. "I didn't think they were so near."

"It's not the Suna nin," she told him.

Up ahead five figures dressed in black robes with red clouds came out into the open.

Sasori nodded his head. "Not the ones we were looking for but they'll do."


End file.
